so 


/ 


A  YEAR   OF   SACRED   SONG 


I  gear  of  |s>acrelj  Ie>oug 

WITH  SELECTIONS  IN  PROSE 
FROM  SOURCES  OLD  AND  NEW 
BY  MARTHA  CAPPS  OLIVER 
AND  WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  FROM 
WATER-COLOUR  SKETCHES  BY 

C  ftfon 


iorh 

RAPHAEL   TUCK   AND    SONS 

COMPANY,   LIMITED 

MDCCCXCV 


Copyright,  1895,  by 

Raphael  Tuck  and  Sons 

Company,  Limited 


preface 


AS  little  children  gather  shells  from  the  pebbly 
beach,  and  hold  them  to  their  ears  to  catch  the 
murmurs  of  the  mighty  sea,  so  we  gather  these 
pearl-texts  from  the  shore  of  Divine  Love,  and, 
listening  with  the  spirit,  catch  the  message  from 
the  sea  of  eternity  which  is  breaking  at  our  feet. 

M.  C.  O. 


_ 


2233328 


Jiiepnote. 


WHOEVER  SINGS  HIS  SONG  ARIGHT, 
MUST  CATCH  THE  KEYNOTE  FIRST^ 

THEN  WILL  THE  PERFECT  STRAIN  ASCEND, 
AND  INTO  RAPTURE  BURST. 

AND  IN  THE  SCALE  OF  EVERY  LIFE 
THIS  NOTE  RUNS  THROUGH  AND  THROUGH  — 

NO  TONES  CAN  MAKE  A  PERFECT  CHORD 
UNLESS  THE  KEY  BE  TRUE. 

THE  SECRET  OF  ALL  HIGH  RENOWN, 

OF  WORTH  OR  HONEST  FAME  — 
WHAT  IS  IT  BUT  THE  ECHO  TRUE 

OF  SURE  AND  LOFTY  AIM  ? 

WE  TOUCH  THE  VIBRANT  KEYS  OF  SOUL 

WITH  SPIRIT-FINGER  FINE, 
AND  ALL  THE  HARMONIES  OF  LIFE 

BLEND  IN  A  CHORD  DIVINE. 

EACH  SOUL  MUST  SET  ITS  SONG  OF  LIFE, 

IN  OCTAVE  LOW  OR  HIGH, 
AND  HE  WHOSE  STRAIN  IS  TRULY  KEYED 

SHALL  HEAR  IT  IN  THE  SKY. 

WHATEVER  NOTE  OUR  LIPS  ESSAY, 

WHATE'ER  THE  THEME  MAY  BE, 
WITH  LISTENING  HEART  AND  EAR  ATTENT, 

SO  MAY  WE  TAKE  OUR  KEY  ! 

MARTHA  CAPPS  OLIVER. 


gear  of 


tV,  I  say,  on  the  Lord.  —  Psalm  2J  :  14. 


'y  ANOTHER  year  of  progress,  another  year 

y"\        of  praise, 
**  Another  year  of  proving  His  presence  all 

the  days  ; 

Another  year  of  service,  of  witness  for  His  love  ; 
Another  year  of  training  for  holier  work  above. 

Thank  God,  He  gives  no  endless  way 
But  lays  His  hand  across  the  road, 

Calls  many  a  halt  and  bids  thee  stay 
And  rest  thee  of  thy  load. 

He  is  too  full  of  grace  to  deal 
A  breathless  road  that  never  swerves  ; 

But  all  things  turn  and  pause  and  wheel 
In  restful,  joyful  curves. 

Busy  souls,  try,  this  year,  to  see  what  you  can 
make  of  the  broken  fragments  of  time.  Glean  up 
its  precious  dust,  those  leavings  of  days  and  rem- 
nants of  hours,  which  so  many  are  sweeping  out 
into  the  vast  waste  of  existence.  Perhaps,  if  you 
be  a  miser  of  moments  and  half-hours  and  unex- 
pected holidays,  your  careful  garnerings  may  ensure 
you  a  full  and  profitable  life,  and  you  may  become 
richer  in  knowledge  than  those  whose  time  is  all 
their  own.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 


Because  Thy  loving-kindness  is  better  than  life,  my  lips  shall 
praise  Thee.  —  Psalm  63  :  3. 


on  thy  heart  each  past  "red-letter" 
\J    day! 

Forget  not  all  the  sunshine  of  the  way 
By  which  the  Lord  hath  led  thee  ;  answered  prayers 
And  joys  unasked,  strange  blessings,  lifted  cares, 
Grand  promise  —  echoes  !     Thus  thy  life  shall  be 
One  record  of  His  love  and  faithfulness  to  thee. 

HAVERGAL. 

Into  all  our  lives,  in  many  simple,  familiar  ways, 
God  infuses  this  element  of  joy  from  the  surprises 
of  life,  which  unexpectedly  brighten  our  days,  and 
fill  our  eyes  with  light.  He  drops  this  added  sweet- 
ness into  His  children's  cup,  and  makes  it  to  run 
over.  The  success  we  were  not  counting  on,  the 
blessing  we  were  not  trying  after,  the  strain  of  music 
in  the  midst  of  drudgery,  the  beautiful  morning 
picture  or  sunset  glory  thrown  in  as  we  pass  to  or 
from  our  daily  business,  the  unsought  word  of  en- 
couragement or  expression  of  sympathy,  the  sen- 
tence that  meant  more  for  us  than  the  writer  or 
speaker  thought,  —  these  and  a  hundred  others  that 
every  one's  experience  can  supply  are  instances  of 
what  I  mean. 

You  may  call  it  accident  or  chance  —  it  often  is  ; 
you  may  call  it  human  goodness  —  it  often  is;  but 
always,  always  call  it  God's  love,  for  that  is  always 
in  it.     These  are  His  free  gifts.  —  s.  LONGFELLOW. 
[2] 


Take,  therefore,  no  thought  of  the  morrow  ;  for  the  morrow 
shall  take  thought  for  the  things  of  itself .  —  S.  Matthew  6 :  24. 

THE  New  Year  has  a  smiling  face, 
But  tells  no  tales  of  what  may  be  ; 
In  silent  power  he  takes  his  place, 

And  wraps  him  in  uncertainty. 
And  yet  some  things  I  count  upon, 
Which  he  must  give  ere  he  be  gone  ! 

I  count  upon  some  tears  to  shed, 

Some  sleepless  nights,  some  weary  days, 

Some  heaviness  of  heart  and  head, 
Some  thorny  paths,  some  stony  ways ; 

These,  more  or  less,  for  every  one, 
But  joy  and  rest  when  all  is  done. 

The  love  of  God  I  count  upon, 

As  on  the  mountains  in  their  strength,  . 

It  has  not  failed  in  the  years  gone, 

It  will  last  on  through  all  life's  length ; 
I  cannot  count  on  my  own  love, 

But  His  is  sure  as  Heaven  above. 

Has  the  New  Year  a  secret  face  ? 

There  are  some  things,  he  cannot  hide, 
Welcome  him  all,  and  give  him  place: 

Long  as  he  can  he  may  abide  ! 
He  has  surprises  for  us  ?     Well, 

We  trust  him  —  he  the  rest  shall  tell ! 

MARIANNE    FARNINGHAM. 

[3] 


ifourtf) 

So  teach  us  to  number  our  days  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts 
unto  wisdom.  — Psalm  90:  12. 

SO,  here  hath  been  dawning  another  blue  day, 
Think,  wilt  thou  then  let  it  slip  useless  away? 
Out  of  eternity  this  new  day  is  born; 
Into  eternity  at  night  will  return. 

CARLYLE. 

To  shape  the  whole  future  is  not  our  problem; 
but  to  shape  faithfully  only  a  part  of  it,  according 
to  rules  already  known.  It  is  perhaps  possible 
for  each  of  us,  who  will  with  due  earnestness 
inquire,  to  ascertain  clearly  what  he,  for  his  own 
part,  ought  to  do;  this  let  him,  with  true  heart, 
do,  and  continue  doing.  The  general  issue  will, 
as  it  has  always  done,  rest  well  with  a  Higher  In- 
telligence than  ours.  .  .  .  This  day  thou  knowest 
ten  commanded  duties,  seest  in  thy  mind  ten 
things  which  should  be  done  for  one  thou  doest ! 

Do  one  of  them;  this  of  itself  will  show  thee  ten 
others  which  can  and  shall  be  done.  —  CARLYLE. 

Sufficient  for  each  day  is  the  good  thereof,  equally 
as  the  evil.  We  must  do  at  once,  and  with  our 
might,  the  merciful  deed  that  our  hand  findeth  to 
do, —  else  it  will  never  be  done,  for  the  hand  will 
find  other  tasks  to  do,  and  the  arrears  fall  through. 

And  every  unconsummated  good  feeling,  every 
unfulfilled  purpose  that  His  spirit  has  prompted, 
shall  one  day  charge  us  as  faithless  and  recreant 
before  God.  —  j.  H.  THOM. 
[4] 


January 

jftftl) 


Ponder  the  path  of  thy  feet.  —  Proverbs  4  :  26. 

LIFE  is  before  ye,  —  from  the  certain  road 
Ye  cannot  turn  :  then  take  ye  up  your  load. 
Not  yours  to  tread  or  leave  the  unknown  way, 
Ye  must  go  o'er  it,  meet  ye  what  ye  may. 

A  sacred  burden  is  this  life  to  bear,  — 
To  suffer  then  is  nobler  than  to  dare. 
Look  on  it,  lift  it,  bear  it  solemnly, 
Stand  up  and  walk  beneath  it  steadfastly; 
Fail  not  for  sorrow,  falter  not  for  sin, 
But  onward,  upward,  till  the  goal  ye  win; 
Stop  not  for  sloth,  nor  yet  for  pleasure  stray; 
God  guard  ye,  and  God  guide  ye  on  your  way. 

BUTLER. 

Take  life  earnestly.  Take  it  an  earnest,  vital, 
essential  matter.  Take  it  just  as  though  you 
personally  were  born  to  the  task  of  performing  a 
noble  task  in  it  —  as  though  the  world  had  waited 
for  your  coming.  Take  it  as  though  it  was  a  grand 
opportunity  to  do  and  to  achieve,  to  carry  forward 
great  and  good  schemes  :  to  help  and  cheer  a  suffer- 
ing, weary,  it  may  be  a  heart-broken,  brother. 
The  fact  is,  life  is  undervalued  by  a  great  majority 
of  mankind.  It  is  not  made  half  as  much  of  as 
should  be  the  case.  Now  and  then  a  man  stands 
aside  from  the  crowd,  labors  earnestly,  steadfastly, 
confidently,  and  straightway  becomes  famous. 

ROYAL   PATH   OF    LIFE. 

EsJ 


Wherefore  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he 
fall.  —  I  Corinthians  10:  12. 

SO  you  fell  just  now  in  the  mud,  poor  heart ! 
And  to  try  to  rise  and  be  clean  is  vain? 
Take  both  my  hands  now,  and  do  your  part; 
So  —  you  stand  on  your  feet  again. 

Did  nobody  tell  you  your  feet  might  slip? 

Did  some  one  push  you  ?  (such  things  are  done !) 
Was  your  path  so  rough  that  you  needs  must  slip? 

Ah !  the  blame  is  on  many  —  not  one. 

Sobbing  still  over  that  ugly  stain ! 

I  may  not  comfort  or  hush  you,  dear ! 
Through  such  sad  tears  in  their  burning  rain 

Christ  and  His  cross  show  clear. 

Must  you  go  sorrowing  all  your  day? 

Sweet,  in  suffering  souls  grow  white : 
Keep  my  hand  through  this  stony  way  — 

See  where  the  west  turns  bright. 

Always  put  the  best  interpretation  on  a  tenet. 
Why  not  on  Christianity,  wholesome,  sweet,  and 
poetic?  It  is  the  record  of  a  pure  and  holy  soul, 
humble,  absolutely  disinterested,  a  truth-speaker, 
and  bent  on  serving,  teaching,  and  uplifting  men. 
Christianity  taught  the  capacity,  the  element,  to 
love  the  All-perfect  without  a  stingy  bargain  for 
personal  happiness.  It  taught  that  to  love  him 
was  happiness, —  to  love  him  in  other's  virtues. 

EMERSON. 
[6] 


I  know  the  thoughts  that  I  think  towards  you,  saith  the  Lord, 
thoughts  of  peace,  and  not  of  evil,  to  give  you  an  expected  end. 
—  Jeremiah  29  :  2. 

A  LITTLE  flower  so  lowly  grew, 
So  lonely  was  it  left, 
That  heaven  looked  like  an  eye  of  blue, 
Down  in  its  rocky  cleft. 

What  could  the  little  flower  do, 

In  such  a  darksome  place, 
But  try  to  reach  the  eye  of  blue 

And  climb  to  kiss  heaven's  face? 


And  there's  no  life  so  lone  and  low 
But  strength  may  still  be  given, 

From  narrowest  lot  on  earth  to  grow 
The  straighter  up  to  heaven. 

GERALD    MASSEY. 

A  root  set  in  the  finest  soil,  in  the  best  climate, 
and  blessed  with  all  that  sun  and  air  and  rain  can 
do  for  it,  is  not  in  so  sure  a  way  of  its  growth  to 
perfection,  as  every  man  may  be,  whose  spirit  as- 
pires after  all  that  which  God  is  ready  and  infi- 
nitely desirous  to  give  him.  For  the  sun  meets  not 
the  springing  bud  that  stretches  toward  him  with 
half  that  certainty,  as  God,  the  source  of  all  good, 
communicates  Himself  to  the  soul  that  longs  to 
partake  of  Him.  —  WILLIAM  LAW. 
[7] 


Am  I  my  brother's  keeper  ? —  Genesis  4 :  9. 

A   SINGLE  word  is  a  little  thing, 
jL\.     But  a  soul  may  be  dying  before  our  eyes 
For  lack  of  the  comfort  a  word  may  bring, 

With  its  welcome  help  and  its  sweet  surprise. 
A  kindly  look  costs  nothing  at  all, 

But  a  heart  may  be  starving  for  just  one  glance, 
That  shall  show  by  the  eyelids'  tender  fall 

The  help  of  a  pitying  countenance. 

It  is  easy  enough  to  bend  the  ear 

To  catch  some  tale  of  sore  distress; 
For  men  may  be  fainting  beside  us  here 

For  longing  to  share  their  weariness; 
These  gifts  nor  gold  nor  silver  may  buy, 

Nor  wealth  alone  can  love  bestow, 
But  the  comfort  of  word  or  ear  or  eye 

The  poorest  may  offer  wherever  he  go. 

C.  F.  RICHARDSON. 

How  many  are  the  sufferers  who  have  fallen 
amongst  misfortunes  along  the  wayside  of  life ! 
"By  chance"  we  come  that  way;  chance,  acci- 
dent, Providence  has  thrown  them  in  our  way; 
we  see  them  from  a  distance,  like  the  Priest,  or 
we  come  upon  them  suddenly,  like  the  Levite;  our 
business,  our  pleasure,  is  interrupted  by  the  sight, 
is  troubled  by  the  delay;  what  are  our  feelings, 
what  our  actions  towards  them  ?  .  .  .  "  Who  is 
thy  neighbor?  "  It  is  the  sufferer,  whoever,  wher- 
ever, whatsoever  he  may  be.  —  A.  p.  STANLEY. 
[8] 


IVe  will  remember  thy  love.  —  Song  of  Solomon  1 :  4. 

WHAT  thousands  and  millions  of  recollec- 
tions there  must  be  in  us!  And  every 
now  and  then  one  of  them  becomes  known  to  us; 
and  it  shows  us  what  spiritual  depths  are  growing 
in  us,  what  mines  of  memory.  ...  In  some  age 
or  other,  I  shall  say  of  some  heavenly  marvel,  per- 
haps, "It  is  wonderful,  wonderful!  And  yet  in 
the  earth  it  was  hinted  to  me,  by  the  tones  of  the 
wind,  and  the  way  the  clouds  went  over  my  head." 
I  think,  perhaps  every  sight  in  the  world  that  now 
is  may  avail  in  the  world  that  is  to  come.  On  the 
golden  floor  of  heaven,  it  may  be  the  better  for 
me  that  I  have  noticed  even  the  worm's  way  in 
and  out  of  the  earth.  It  may  be  that  some  of  our 
little  observations  now  will  open  into  wonderful 
knowledge  hereafter.  A  plant  comes  out  of  the 
ground  a  little  bud.  It  opens  and  grows  and  blos- 
soms and  seeds,  and  then  dies.  Now  there  is 
much  more  in  this  than  I  know  of  yet;  much,  very 
much  more.  If  I  knew  all  that  is  to  be  learned 
from  a  daisy  even,  I  should  be  less  of  a  stranger 
to  God  than  I  am.  But  I  shall  know  it  sometime. 
All  about  me,  tree  unto  tree  is  uttering  speech, 
and  flower  unto  flower  is  showing  knowledge. 
But  it  is  in  a  language  that  I  do  not  well  under- 
stand, but  which  I  shall  remember;  and  so  which 
I  shall  learn  the  whole  meaning  of  hereafter. 

WILLIAM    MOUNTFORD. 
[9] 


Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  among 
you,  which  cometh  upon  you  to  prove  you,  as  though  a  strange 
thing  happened  unto  you  :  but  insomuch  as  ye  are  partakers 
of  Christ's  suffering,  rejoice ;  that  at  the  revelation  of  his 
glory  also  ye  may  rejoice  -with  exceeding  joy.  If  ye  are  re- 
proached for  the  name  of  Christ,  blessed  are  ye  ;  because  the 
Spirit  of  glory  and  the  Spirit  of  God  resteth  upon  you. — 
i  Peter  4:  12-14. 

Humble  yourselves,  therefore,  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God, 
that  he  may  exalt  you  in  due  time ;  casting  all  your  care 
upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  you.  —  I  Peter  5  :  7. 

WE  have  need  of  all  our  crosses.  When  we 
suffer  much  it  is  because  we  have  strong 
ties  which  it  is  necessary  to  loosen.  We  resist 
and  thus  retard  the  divine  purpose;  we  repulse 
the  heavenly  hand  and  it  must  be  laid  upon  us 
again  and  again.  If  we  would  at  once  bring  our- 
selves into  harmony  with  divine  will,  our  crosses 
would  seem  light  and  our  burdens  easy  to  be  borne. 

Glad  or  sad,  a  dwindling  span 
Is  the  little  life  of  man. 
Love  and  hope  and  work  and  tears 
Fly  before  the  flying  years. 

Yet  shall  tremulous  hearts  grow  bold  — 
All  the  story  is  not  told  — 
For  around  us  as  a  sea 
Spreads  God's  great  eternity. 

CHRISTIAN    BURKE. 


[10] 


Clcbmtlj 

Let  your  loins  be  girded  about  and  your  light  burning.  — 
S.  Luke  12:8. 

A  Prayer  for  the  New   Year. 

OLORD,  thou  art  the  God  of  our  fathers, 
the  King  eternal,  immortal,  invisible;  we 
would  bless  thee  at  all  times,  in  sorrow  and  in 
joy,  in  privation  and  in  plenty,  in  life  and  in 
death,  in  time  and  in  eternity.  And  now,  with  a 
new  sense  of  gratefulness,  with  glad  memories  of 
the  old  year  that  is  gone,  and  with  hopeful  confi- 
dence in  view  of  the  new  year  that  has  begun,  we 
come  afresh  to  thy  feet;  to  thee  who  hast  crowned 
the  year  with  thy  goodness;  to  thee  whose  years 
do  not  change;  to  thee  who  hast  declared  that  thy 
Son,  our  Mediator  and  Redeemer,  is  the  same 
yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever.  With  thank- 
fulness for  past  mercies,  with  the  prayer  that  our 
times  may  ever  be  in  thy  hands  in  the  future; 
with  the  consecration  of  our  lives  anew  to  thy  ser- 
vice, and  pleading  that  thy  mercy  shall  be  shown 
toward  our  sins,  that  thy  care  shall  be  around  us 
forever,  that  our  lives  shall  be  fashioned  after  the 
image  of  our  Lord,  that  we  may  be  solaced  and 
comforted  in  all  our  toils,  and  cares,  and  griefs, 
and  dangers  of  the  coming  year  with  thy  continual 
presence,  even  thus,  O  Lord  our  Father,  we  come 
to  thee. 

CHRISTIAN   ADVOCATE. 


The  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.  —  S.  Luke  6: 19. 

THE  issues  of  life  concentrate  themselves  into 
a  few  special  points  of  opportunity.  The 
success  and  failure  of  life  depend  upon  whether 
these  opportunities  are  grasped  when  they  present 
themselves,  or  whether  they  are  neglected  and 
permitted  to  pass.  Life's  greatest  opportunities 
are  not  like  the  great  ships  which  sail  from  the 
chief  ports  of  the  world,  which  sail  and  come 
again,  and  sail  at  stated  intervals  from  the  same 
ports.  The  great  chances  touch  once  at  the  pier 
of  our  lives,  throw  out  the  planks  of  opportunity 
over  which  our  feet  may  pass,  ring  their  signal 
bells  in  our  ears,  and  then  sail  out  of  the  harbor 
and  away  into  the  eternal  sea  and  never  come 
again.  The  little  chances  linger  and  return,  but 
the  great  chances  come  and  go  and  never  come 
again.  ...  If  with  illumined  sight  we  could 
look  back  over  the  lives  of  the  people  by  whom 
we  are  surrounded,  how  many  great  and  rich  op- 
portunities would  we  see  that  they  have  permitted 
to  drift  by  them  unimproved! 

J.  T.  McFARLAND. 

There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men 
Which,  taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune ; 
Omitted,  all  the  voyage  of  their  life 
Is  bound  in  shallows  and  in  miseries. 

SHAKESPEARE. 


[12] 


/  the  Lord  thy  God  will  hold  thy  right  hand,  saying  unto 
thee,  Fear  not ;  I  -will  help  thee.  —  Isaiah  12  :  13. 

WE  never  have  more  than  we  can  bear.  The 
present  hour  we  are  always  able  to  endure. 
As  our  day,  so  is  our  strength.  If  the  trials  of 
many  years  were  gathered  into  one,  they  would 
overwhelm  us;  therefore,  in  pity  to  our  little 
strength,  He  sends  first  one,  then  another,  then 
removes  both,  and  lays  on  a  third,  heavier,  per- 
haps, than  either;  but  all  is  so  wisely  measured  to 
our  strength  that  the  bruised  reed  is  never  broken. 
We  do  not  enough  look  at  our  trials  in  this  contin- 
uous and  successive  view.  —  H.  E.  MANNING. 

He  chose  this  path  for  thee. 
No  feeble  chance,  nor  hard,  relentless  fate, 

But  love, His  love, hath  placed  thy  footsteps  here; 
He  knew  the  way  was  rough  and  desolate, 

He  knew  the  heart  would  often  sink  with  fear; 
Yet  tenderly  He  whispers,  "  Child,  I  see 
This  path  is  best  for  thee !  " 

He  chose  this  path  for  thee, 
Though  well  He  knew  sharp  thorns  would  tear  thy 

feet, 

Knew  how  the  branches  would  obstruct  thy  way, 
Knew  all  the  hidden  dangers  thou  wouldst  meet, 
Knew  how  thy  faith  would  falter  day  by  day; 
And  still  the  whisper  echoed,  "  Yes,  I  see 
This  path  is  best  for  thee !  " 
[13] 


January 


/  will  guide  thee  -with  mine  eye.  —  Psalm  37  :  8. 

SO  I  sang  in  childhood's  days, 
"Father,  thou  shalt  guide  me." 
So  I  sang  in  darker  ways, 
Whatsoever  betide  me. 
Young  feet  turn  so  oft  aside, 
But  the  older  need  a  guide, 
And  I  pray 
Every  day, 
Father,  Father,  guide  me. 

Thou  hast  led  o'er  mountain  slope, 

And  in  deeper  hollow; 
Thee  through  many  a  vale  of  hope 

Have  I  learned  to  follow. 
In  the  dark  and  in  the  light, 
Gladsome  dawn  and  blackest  night, 
I  have  been 
In  changing  scene, 
Safe  with  thee  to  guide  me. 

Now  I  wait,  as  oft  before, 

Where  the  way  is  hidden; 
Till  the  journey  shall  be  o'er 

I  will  go  as  bidden; 
Naught  there  is  for  me  to  fear 
When  I  know  that  thou  art  near. 
Here  I  stand, 
Take  my  hand, 
O,  my  Father,  guide  me. 
[14] 


jftfteentl) 

Thy  kindness  to  thy  friend.  —  2  Samuel  16 :  17. 

HAVE  you  ever  noticed  how  much  of  Christ's 
life  was  spent  in  doing  kind  things  —  in 
merely  doing  kind  things?  Run  over  it  with  that 
in  view,  and  you  will  find  that  He  spent  a  great 
proportion  of  His  time  simply  in  making  people 
happy,  in  doing  good  turns  to  people.  There  is 
only  one  thing  greater  than  happiness  in  the  world, 
and  that  is  holiness;  and  it  is  not  in  our  keeping; 
but  what  God  has  put  in  our  power  is  the  happi- 
ness of  those  about  us,  and  that  is  largely  to  be 
secured  by  our  being  kind  to  them. 

"The  greatest  thing,"  says  some  one,  "a  man 
can  do  for  his  Heavenly  Father,  is  to  be  kind  to 
some  of  His  other  children."  I  wonder  why  it  is 
that  we  are  not  all  kinder  than  we  are?  How 
much  the  world  needs  it.  How  easily  it  is  done. 
How  instantaneously  it  acts.  How  infallibly  it  is 
remembered.  How  superabundantly  it  pays  itself 
back  —  for  there  is  no  debtor  in  the  world  so  hon- 
ourable, so  superbly  honourable,  as  Love. 

HENRY   DRUMMOND. 

Kindness  is  stored  away  in  the  heart  like  rose- 
leaves  in  a  drawer,  to  sweeten  every  object  around 
them.  Little  drops  of  rain  brighten  the  meadows 
and  little  acts  of  kindness  brighten  the  world.  We 
can  conceive  of  nothing  more  attractive  than  the 
heart  when  filled  with  the  spirit  of  kindness. 
[15] 


Blessed  is  the  man  that  trnsteth  in  the  Lord,  and  whose  hope 
the  Lord  is.  —  Psalm  17:7. 

HOPE  makes  even  the  struggle  of  the  daily 
life  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  it  "  not  like 
the  convict's  trample  on  the  world's  great  tread- 
mill, but  like  an  ascent  on  the  luminous  steps  of 
duty  to  the  very  gates  of  heaven."  "O  blessed 
hope,"  exclaims  Thomas  Carlyle,  "whereby  on 
man's  straight  prison  walls  are  painted  beautiful, 
far-stretching  landscapes;  and  into  the  night  of 
every  death  is  shed  holiest  dawn." 

The  great  doers  have  always  been  great  hopers. 
.  .  .  Loss  of  hope,  when  the  heart  dies  and  the 
courage  fails,  and  the  hands  hang  listlessly,  and 
a  man  begins  only  and  sadly  to  drudge  —  this,  the 
loss  of  hope,  is  the  blackest  loss.  We  should 
always  hope  because  the  promises  are. 

"  I  stood  amazed  and  whispered,  '  Can  it  be 
That  he  hath  granted  all  the  boon  I  sought? 
How  wonderful  that  he  for  me  hath  wrought ! 
How  wonderful  that  he  hath  answered  me ! ' 
O  faithful  heart !     He  said  that  he  would  hear 
And  answer  thy  poor  prayer;  and  he  hath  heard 
And  proved  his  promise !    Wherefore  didst  thou 

fear? 

Why  marvel  that  thy  Lord  had  kept  his  word? 
More  wonderful  if  he  should  fail  to  bless 
Expectant  faith  and  prayer  with  good  success." 

WAYLAND    HOYT. 


For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he  that  seeketh,  find- 
eth.  —  S.  Matthew  7  :  8. 

ARE  you  weak?  Ask  for  strength.  Are  you 
sad?  Ask  God  and  He  will  be  your  solace. 
Are  you  distrustful  and  in  darkness?  He  will  be 
a  lamp  to  your  feet.  Are  you  indifferent?  Seek, 
and  a  new  impulse  shall  be  given  your  energy; 
God's  image  shall  fill  your  heart. 

Fight  the  fight,  Christian!  Jesus  is  o'er  thee; 
Run  the  race,  Christian!  heaven  is  before  thee; 
He  who  hath  promise" d  faltereth  never; 
He  will  sustain  you  now  and  forever. 

Upon  a  crutch  —  her  girlish  face 
Alight  with  love  and  tender  grace  — 
Laughing  she  limps  from  place  to  place, 
Upon  a  crutch. 

And  you  and  I,  who  journey  through 
A  rose-leaf  world  of  dawn  and  dew, 
We  cry  to  heaven  overmuch, 

We  rail  and  frown  at  fate,  while  she 
And  many  more  in  agony, 
Are  brave  and  patient,  strong  and  true, 
Upon  a  crutch. 

ROBERT  LOVEMAN. 

Do  not  be  too  moral.   .   .   .     Aim  above  moral- 
ity.   Be  not  simply  good;  be  good  for  something. 

THOREAU. 
[17] 


January 


She  hath  done  what  she  could.  —  S.  Mark  14  :  8. 

IT  is  not  mine  to  run 
With  eager  feet 
Along  life's  crowded  ways, 
My  Lord  to  meet. 

He  hath  no  need  of  me 
In  grand  affairs, 

Where  fields  are  lost,  or  crowns 
Won  unawares. 

Yet  Master,  if  I  may 
Make  one  pale  flower 

Bloom  brighter  for  thy  sake, 
Through  one  short  hour; 

Or  sing  one  high,  clear  song, 
On  which  may  soar 

Some  glad  soul  heavenward, 
I  ask  no  more. 

JULIA  C.  R.  DORR. 

Love's  secret  is  to  be  always  doing  things  for 
God,  and  not  to  mind  because  they  are  such  very 
little  ones.  —  F.  w.  FABER. 

My  place  of  lowly  service  too, 

Beneath  Thy  sheltering  wings  I  see, 

For  all  the  work  I  have  to  do, 

Is  done  through  sheltering  rest  in  Thee. 

ANNA  L.   WARIN. 
[18] 


fanuar? 

jjimeteentl)  Dap 

Them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him.  — 
I  Thessalonians  4:  14. 

AN  awe  of  death  we  were  meant  to  have ;  and 
fears  of  it  have  their  use.  Down  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death  do  dreadful  mists  arise; 
then  let  the  thought  of  God  shine  out  from  my 
soul,  and  it  will  glorify  the  mists,  and  make  them 
golden  with  the  light  of  heaven.  Our  life  is  a 
dying  daily,  as  Paul  says;  and  at  the  longest,  it  is 
not  such  a  very  long  death.  For  a  man  may  be 
ever  so  young  and  strong,  yet  it  is  likely  the  wood 
is  growing  in  which  he  will  be  coffined;  and  there 
is  a  divine  dial-plate,  on  which  the  hour  of  his 
death  is  pointed  to;  and  what  is  to  be  his  grave 
will  be  his  grave;  and  his  body  is  waited  for. 

But  do  I  not  live  in  God?  And  shall  I  be  afraid 
of  dying  in  God?  Is  it  I  that  keep  my  heart  go- 
ing? And  ought  I  then  to  dread  its  stopping? 
Rather  what  I  ought  to  fear  is  the  will  which  it 
does  beat  with,  —  the  Divine  will. 

WILLIAM  MOUNTFORD. 

Sleep  is  a  death.      O,  make  me  try, 
By  sleeping,  what  it  is  to  die ! 
And  as  gently  lay  my  head 
On  my  grave,  as  now  my  bed. 
Howe'er  I  rest,  great  God,  let  me 
Awake  again  at  last  with  Thee  ! 

WILLIAM    MOUNTFORD. 
[19] 


JJanuar? 


He  that  taketh  not  up  his  cross  and  folloiveth  after  me  is  not 
•worthy  of  me.  —  S.  Matthew  10:38. 

I  WOULD  follow  after  Christ  because  I  have 
heard  Him  speak  a  natural  language,  and  be- 
cause I  have  heard  beating  in  His  heart  the  heart 
of  all.  Therefore  He  is  not  a  person  for  me  who 
was,  and  is  no  more,  but  the  eternal  contemporary 
of  us  all,  the  symbol  of  a  spirit  which  rests  with 
us  always.  The  visible  truths  of  the  human  and 
divine  Evangel  rise  every  morning  on  my  hori- 
zon, like  new  luminaries.  I  salute  and  adore 
them  with  the  same  admiration  as  if  I  were  seeing 
them  for  the  first  time.  Miracles,  dogmas,  strange- 
ness of  forms,  which  worried  me  at  first,  worry  me 
no  longer.  Across  them  all  I  see  only  one  thing, 
—  "  man  in  search  of  God,  God  in  search  of 
man." 

Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee, 
E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  me. 
Still  all  my  prayer  shall  be, 
Nearer  my  God  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee. 

SARAH    FLOWER   ADAMS. 

Flowers  never  emit  so  sweet  and  strong  a  fra- 
grance as  before  a  storm.  Beauteous  soul  !  when 
a  storm  approaches  thee  be  as  fragrant  as  a  sweet- 
smelling  flower.  —  RICHTER. 

[20] 


Who  is  among  you  that  feareth  the  Lord,  that  obeyeth  the 
voice  of  his  servant,  thai  walketh  in  darkness,  and  hath  no 
light  ?  Let  him  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  stay  upon 
his  God.  —  Isaiah  I  :  IO. 

HE  has  an  especial  tenderness  of  love  towards 
thee  for  that  thou  art  in  the  dark  and  hast 
no  light,  and  His  heart  is  glad  when  thou  dost 
arise  and  say,  "  I  will  go  to  my  Father."  For  He 
sees  thee  through  all  the  gloom,  through  which 
thou  canst  not  see  Him. 

Say  to  Him,  "  I  am  very  dull  and  low  and  hard ; 
but  Thou  art  wise  and  high  and  tender,  and  Thou 
art  my  God.  I  am  Thy  child.  Forsake  me  not." 
Then  fold  the  arms  of  thy  faith  in  quietness  until 
light  goes  up  in  the  darkness.  Fold  the  arms  of 
thy  Faith  I  say,  but  not  of  thy  Action;  bethink 
thee  of  something  thou  oughtest  to  do,  and  go  and 
do  it,  if  it  be  but  the  sweeping  of  a  room,  or  the 
preparing  of  a  meal,  or  a  visit  to  a  friend :  heed 
not  thy  feelings :  do  thy  work. 

GEORGE  MACDONALD. 

Hold  thy  murmurs,  heaven  arraigning, 
The  patient  see  God's  loving  face; 

Who  bear  their  burdens  uncomplaining, 
'Tis  they  who  win  the  Father's  grace. 

He  wounds  himself  who  braves  the  rod, 

And  sets  himself  to  fight  with  God. 


[21] 


And  that  ye  study  to  be  quiet. —  I  Thessalonians  4:11. 

I  CHARGE  my  thoughts  be  humble  still, 
And  all  my  conduct  mild; 
Content,  my  Father,  with  Thy  will, 
And  quiet  as  a  child. 

Unite,  my  roving  thoughts,  unite 

In  silence  soft  and  sweet; 
And  thou,  my  soul,  sit  gently  down 

At  thy  great  Sovereign's  feet. 

DODDRIDGE. 

Let  your  words  be  few,  especially  when  your 
superiors  or  strangers  are  present,  lest  you  betray 
your  own  weakness,  and  rob  yourself  of  the  op- 
portunity which  you  might  otherwise  have  had  to 
gain  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  experience  by  hear- 
ing those  whom  you  silenced  by  your  own  talking. 

SIR   MATTHEW    HALE. 

Not  only  to  say  the  right  thing  in  the  right 
place,  but,  far  more  difficult  still,  to  leave  unsaid 
the  wrong  thing  at  the  tempting  moment.  — SALA. 

Of  every  noble  work  the  silent  part  is  best; 

Of  all  expression  that  which  cannot  be  expressed. 

w.  w,  STORY. 
Govern  the  lips 

As  they  were  palace  doors,  the  King  within. 
Tranquil  and  fair  and  courteous  be  all  words 
Which  from  that  presence  win. 

EDWIN  ARNOLD. 

[22] 


I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God  in  yesus  Christ.  —  Philemon  3:14. 

I    PRESS  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  is  there, 
And  the  Lord  Himself  will  give  it, — 
Oh,  this  life  is  bright  and  this  life  is  fair, 

If  we  know  but  how  to  live  it; 
But  the  life  above  is  the  best  of  all 
If  our  Father's  house  our  own  we  call 
And  the  prize  we  all  at  last  would  claim 
Is  a  starry  crown,  in  the  Saviour's  name. 

IDA    SCOTT   TAYLOR. 

Mighty  have  been  the  contests  of  strength, 
famous  the  victories  which  have  declared  their 
ends;  but  to  achieve  mastery  over  self  is  man's 
greatest  and  grandest  victory.  Moral  energy, 
tempered  in  the  heat  of  adversity,  is  the  great 
engine-force  which  is  moving  the  world,  and, 
united  with  Christianity,  is  making  the  nineteenth 
century  the  manhood  of  the  race.  As  men  have 
risen  in  stature  of  morality,  they  have  demanded 
higher  measures  and  estimates  of  that  stature, 
and  following  the  fainter  rays  of  this  lesser  light 
they  have  come  nearer  "that  greater  light,  that 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world." 

Man  should  do  nothing  that  he  should  repent; 
But  if  he  have,  and  say  that  he  is  sorry, 
It  is  a  worse  fault  if  he  be  not  truly. 

BEAUMONT   AND    FLETCHER. 
[33] 


Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth: 
Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors  ; 
and  their  works  do  follow  them.  —  Revelation  14  :  13. 
And  God  shall  wipe  aiuay  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things 
are  passed  away.  —  Revelation  21:4. 


soft,  beloved!"  we  sometimes  say, 
But  have  no  time  to  charm  away 
Sad  dreams  that  through  the  eyelids  creep; 
But  never  doleful  dream  again 
Shall  break  the  happy  slumber  when 
"He  giveth  His  beloved  sleep." 

MRS.    BROWNING. 

Shall  they  forget  us  because  they  are  "made 
perfect"?  Shall  they  love  us  the  less  because 
they  have  power  now  to  love  us  more?  If  we 
forget  them  not,  shall  they  not  remember  us  with 
God?  No  trial  then  can  isolate  us,  no  sorrow 
can  cut  us  off  from  the  Communion  of  Saints. 
Kneel  down,  and  you  are  with  them;  lift  up  your 
eyes  and  the  heavenly  world,  high  above  all  per- 
turbation, hangs  serenely  overhead;  only  a  thin 
veil,  it  may  be,  floats  between.  All  whom  we 
loved,  and  all  who  loved  us,  whom  we  still  love 
no  less  while  they  love  us  yet  more,  are  ever  near, 
because  ever  in  His  presence  in  whom  we  live 
and  dwell.  —  H.  E.  MANNING. 


[24] 


Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  —  Gala- 
tians  6 :  7. 

THAT  which  you  are  doing,  be  it  good  or 
evil,  that  which  you  are  doing  to-day  and 
every  day,  each  thought,  each  action,  each  event, 
is  contributing  to  form  the  character  by  which  you 
are  to  be  judged.  If  there  be  any  unchangeable 
fate  in  the  universe  this  is  that  fate,  that  the  future 
shall  ever  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  the  past.  If  I 
have  one  wish  above  all  other  wishes  for  you  it  is 
that  you  may  sow  in  such  manner  that  your  har- 
vest days  may  bring  peace  to  your  heart. 

A  Littk  Parable. 

I  made  the  cross  myself  whose  weight 

Was  later  laid  on  me. 
This  thought  is  torture  as  I  toil 

Up  life's  steep  Calvary. 

To  think  mine  own  hands  drove  the  nails! 

I  sang  a  merry  song, 
And  chose  the  heaviest  wood  I  had 

To  build  it  firm  and  strong. 

If  I  had  guessed  —  if  I  had  dreamed 
Its  weight  was  meant  for  me  — 

I  should  have  made  a  lighter  cross 
To  bear  up  Calvary ! 

ANNE    REEVE   ALDRICH. 
[25] 


Jjanuar? 


Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  doivn  his 
life  for  his  friends.  —  S.  John  4:  13. 

I  SEE,  I  see,  those  nail-pierced  hands  ! 
Which  bleeding  held  my  Lord 
On  Calvary's  cross,  'mid  hostile  bands, 

While  sin's  atonement  poured. 
Those  blessed,  lifted,  glorious  hands, 

Opened  for  our  supply  — 
All  Heaven  descends  at  their  commands; 
Salvation  draweth  nigh. 

I  see,  I  see,  those  mighty  hands  — 

Deliverance  and  defence  ! 
My  troubled  heart  in  comfort  stands, 

While  fears  are  driven  hence. 
Upholding,  bleeding,  hiding  hands  ! 

Such  wealth  of  grace  they  bring, 
Weak  faith  grows  strong,  and  joy  expands, 

And  Glory  wakes  to  sing. 

I  see,  I  see,  those  cross-scarred  hands! 

They're  graven  with  my  name  — 
With  every  name,  from  out  all  lands,  — 

At  Mercy's  throne  they  flame. 
Those  pierced,  crimson,  loaded  hands  ! 

Oh  !  let  them  touch  our  hearts, 
While  Christ,  the  Lord,  in  pity  stands, 

And  dying  love  imparts. 

JOHN   JAY   McCABE. 
[26] 


Ye  servants  of  the  Lord.  — Psalm  136:  I. 

ALL  cannot  be  commanders-in-chief,  for  some 
must  fill  up  the  ranks;  but  in  neither  case 
need  one  fear  to  put  forth  his  best  effort.  His- 
tory deals  principally  with  great  names,  but  the 
pulse  of  a  nation  is  not  always  felt  alone  at  its  head. 
Unity  of  action  tends  to  a  centralization  of  power; 
for  men  are  ever  striving  harder  to  rise  in  the 
scale  of  humanity.  The  longing  for  their  ideal 
has  taught  them  to  build  their  theories  upon  solid 
foundations,  and  not  upon  the  shifting  sands  which 
the  waves  of  the  great  ocean  of  doubt  wash  to  and 
fro.  A  low  ideal  has  always  been  degenerating 
in  its  influence,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  lofty 
aim  is  always  promotive  of  the  best  results,  for  it 
tends  to  things  above  and  not  to  things  below. 
There  has  never  been  a  great  man  who  has  not 
striven  to  mount  the  ladder  to  its  topmost  round, 
for  it  is  only  from  such  heights  that  he  can  look 
over  the  heads  of  the  vast  throng  below  him,  and 
note  the  restless  tide  as  it  surges  in  its  wild  fury. 

Be  what  thou  seemest;  live  thy  creed; 
Hold  up  to  earth  the  torch  divine; 
Be  what  thou  prayest  to  be  made, 
Let  the  great  Master's  steps  be  thine. 

HORATIUS    BONAR. 


[37] 


When  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast 
shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  who  is  in  secret.  —  S.  Mat- 
thew 6 :  6. 

"  OOLITUDE  is  a  harbor  where  the  damages 
w3  incurred  on  society's  open  sea  may  be  re- 
paired." The  modest  character,  the  pure  life, 
would  be  completely  crushed,  did  it  not  have  these 
seasons  of  strengthening.  As  sleep  rests  the 
wearied  limbs  and  rebuilds  the  worn-out  system, 
so  retirement  invigorates  the  intellect  overtaxed 
by  society's  demands,  "soothes  the  fretted  dispo- 
sition and  the  hurt  feelings."  In  seclusion  the 
mind  finds  peace,  finds  also  greatness. 

"  If  the  chosen  soul  could  never  be  alone 
In  deep  mid-silence,  open-doored  to  God, 
No  greatness  ever  had  been  dreamed  or  done. 
Among  dull  hearts  a  prophet  never  grew; 
The  nurse  of  full-grown  souls  is  solitude." 

It  is  an  excellent  plan  to  have  some  place  to  go 
to  be  quiet  when  things  vex  or  grieve  us.  There 
are  a  good  many  hard  times  in  this  life  of  ours, 
but  we  can  always  bear  them  if  we  ask  help  in  the 
right  way.  —  MISS  ALCOTT. 

He  that  lacks  time  to  mourn,  lacks  time  to  mend; 

Eternity  mends  that.     'Tis  an  ill  cure 

For  life's  worst  ills,  to  have  no  time  to  feel  them. 

HENRY   TAYLOR. 
[28] 


Sianuarp 


Draw  them  with  bands  of  love.  —  Hosea  11:4. 

If  we  love  one  another,  God  divelleth  in  us.  —  I  John  4:12. 

YOU  will  find  as  you  look  back  upon  your  life 
that  the  moments  that  stand  out,  the  moments 
when  you  have  really  lived,  are  the  moments  when 
you  have  done  things  in  the  spirit  of  love.  As 
memory  scans  the  past,  above  and  beyond  all  the 
transitory  pleasures  of  life,  there  leap  forward 
those  supreme  hours  when  you  have  been  enabled 
to  do  unnoticed  kindnesses  to  those  round  about 
you,  things  too  trifling  to  speak  about,  but  which 
you  feel  have  entered  into  your  eternal  life.  I 
have  seen  almost  all  the  beautiful  things  God  has 
made;  I  have  enjoyed  almost  every  pleasure  that 
He  has  planned  for  man;  and  yet,  as  I  look  back, 
I  see  standing  out  above  all  the  life  that  has  gone 
four  or  five  short  experiences  when  the  love  of 
God  reflected  itself  in  some  poor  imitation,  some 
small  act  of  love  of  mine,  and  these  seem  to  be 
the  things  which  alone,  of  all  one's  life,  abide. 
Everything  else  in  all  our  lives  is  transitory. 
Every  other  good  is  visionary.  —  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

She  doeth  little  kindnesses 

Which  most  leave  undone  or  despise; 
For  nought  which  sets  one  heart  at  ease, 
And  giveth  happiness  and  peace, 

Is  low  esteemed  in  her  eyes. 

LOWELL. 
[29] 


A  man  that  hath  friends  must  shcnv  himself  friendly.  — 
Proverbs  18:  24. 

MAN  is  the  artificer  of  his  own  happiness. 
Let  him  beware  how  he  complains  of  the 
disposition  of  circumstances,  for  it  his  own  dis- 
position he  blames.  If  this  is  sour,  or  that  rough, 
or  the  other  steep,  let  him  think  if  it  be  not  his 
work.  If  his  looks  curdle  all  hearts,  let  him  not 
complain  of  a  sour  reception;  if  he  hobble  in  his 
gait,  let  him  not  grumble  at  the  roughness  of  the 
way;  if  he  is  weak  in  the  knees,  let  him  not  call 
the  hill  steep.  This  was  the  pith  of  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  wall  of  the  Swedish  inn,  "You  will  find 
at  Trochate  excellent  bread,  meat,  and  wine; 
provided  you  bring  them  with  you."  — THOREAU. 

As  a  stove  parts  with  its  heat  to  bring  all  sur- 
rounding objects  into  its  own  heated  condition, 
so  we  affect  those  surrounding  us.  Not  more  cer- 
tainly does  a  rose  diffuse  its  fragrance  than  human 
beings  dispense  their  influence  wherever  they  go. 
...  Is  a  man  religious?  Not  more  truly  does 
the  sunshine  impart  its  glory  to  surrounding  ob- 
jects than  that  man's  religious  influence  passes 
from  him  to  all  persons  and  things  within  its 
sphere.  Houses  become  so  imbued  with  the  influ- 
ence of  the  people  that  live  in  them  that  sensitive 
persons  can  feel  that  influence  as  soon  as  they 
enter.  —  WILLIAM  DENTON. 
[30] 


Slanuar? 


Be  kindly  affectioned  one  towards  another  with  brotherly  love. 
—  Romans  12:  10. 

IN  our  memories  there  is  more  storing  up  than 
we  can  tell.     And  God  is  so  wonderful,  that 
what  is  nothing  as  a  sight,  or  an  event,  may  prove 
very  precious  as  a  recollection.  —  WM.  MOUNTFORD. 

Alas  !  I  did  not  say  it, 

The  little,  kindly  word; 
I  let  some  care  delay  it 

From  ears  that  might  have  heard. 

And  last  night  in  the  silence, 

And  last  night  in  the  gloom, 
Death  went  before  and  entered 

That  sorrow-haunted  room. 

This  morn  I  stand  with  fingers 
Upon  the  battered  gate  — 

0  wee,  white,  frightened  faces  — 
O  babes  all  desolate  ! 

1  might  have  borne  God's  message 

In  humble  phrase  of  prayer, 
I  might  have  given  water 
To  lips  that  perished  there. 

But,  clay  upon  the  pillow; 

My  footsteps  are  too  late, 
And  now  —  I  stand  with  fingers 

Upon  the  battered  gate. 

MARY   M.    BOWEN. 

[31] 


§>econO 


//if  chasteneth  us  for  our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of 
His  holiness.  —  Hebrews  12  :  10. 

OWHAT  will  that  joy  be,  where  the  soul,  being 
perfectly  prepared  for  joy,  and  joy  prepared 
by  Christ  for  the  soul,  it  shall  be  our  business 
eternally  to  rejoice!  Then  shalt  thou  be  suffi- 
ciently convinced  that  thy  Redeemer  was  saving 
thee,  as  well  when  He  crossed  thy  desires  as  when 
He  granted  them,  —  when  He  broke  thy  heart  as 
when  He  bound  it  up.  Thou  poor  soul,  who 
prayest  for  joy,  complainest  for  want  of  joy, 
longest  for  joy,  thou  shalt  then  have  full  joy,  as 
much  as  thou  canst  hold,  and  more  than  ever  thou 
hast  thought  on,  or  thy  heart  desired. 

Then  shall  a  new,  a  spirit-childhood  come, 

A  fresher  sense  of  life  in  thee  have  room  ! 

A  life  that  knows  no  pain,  no  death,  no  tomb  ! 

There  sight  shall  know  what  faith  hath  first  be- 

lieved, 

There  perfect  trust  thy  heart  hath  not  conceived, 
There  sad'ning  thoughts  be  gone,  thy  mind  here 

grieved  ! 

Then  for  the  work,  my  soul,  that  waits  thee  there, 
A  firm,  bold  heart  within  thee  daily  bear, 
Undimmed  by  painful  thoughts,  unbowed  by  care. 
[32] 


/  will  bring  the  blind  by  a  way  that  they  knew  not.  —  Isaiah 
13 :  1 6. 

ONE  of  the  most  blessed  promises  in  the  Bible 
is  this :  "  And  I  will  bring  the  blind  by  a  way 
that  they  knew  not;  and  will  lead  them  in  paths 
that  they  have  not  known;  I  will  make  darkness 
light  before  them,  and  crooked  things  straight." 
Surely  this  is  something  we  can  personally  appro- 
priate without  question.  For  we  are  verily  blind. 
We  know  nothing  that  is  before  us;  our  eyes  are 
of  no  use  whatever  in  foretelling  either  good  or 
ill;  and,  being  blind,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
know  which  is  the  best  path  for  us  to  take  in  life. 
In  our  perplexity  God  says:  I  will  take  you  safely 
through  these  ways  that  are  dark  and  unknown  to 
you;  in  these  paths  that  are  so  doubtful,  that  lie 
along  really  dangerous  places,  I  will  lead  you. 
So  may  we  take  the  infinite  comfort  of  the  promise 
to  our  hearts.  Blind  though  we  are,  and  rough 
the  road  over  which  we  walk,  our  Guide  knows 
the  path  perfectly,  and  is  not  only  able  to  take  us 
over  it  safely,  but  also  to  give  us  great  comfort  and 
good  cheer  on  the  way. 

Lord,  I  would  clasp  thy  hand  in  mine, 
Nor  ever  murmur  or  repine, 
•  Content,  whatever  lot  I  see, 
Since  'tis  my  God  that  leadeth  me. 

j.  GILMORE. 

Happy  he  who  is  willing  to  be  led. 
[33] 


Rejoice  evermore.  —  I  Thessalonians  5:16. 


I 


T  is  impious  in  a  good  man  to  be  sad. 

SHAKSPEARE. 


Let  us  wipe  our  tears,  lift  up  our  heads,  and 
give  ourselves  to  brave  and  cheerful  toil.  In  due 
time  the  release  will  come;  rest  so  sweet  after  the 
toil  is  over;  glory  so  bright  after  the  darkness  is 
passed;  victory  so  grand,  that  we  shall  not  wish 
the  conflicts  to  have  been  less  fierce,  or  the  perils 
of  the  day  less  numerous  or  painful. 

A  heart  rejoicing  in  God  delights  in  all  His 
will,  and  is  most  surely  provided  with  the  most 
firm  joy  in  all  estates;  for  if  nothing  can  come  to 
pass  beside  or  against  His  will,  then  cannot  that 
soul  be  vexed  which  delights  in  Him  and  hath 
no  will  but  His,  but  follows  Him  in  all  times,  in 
all  estates;  not  only  when  He  shines  bright  on 
them,  but  when  they  are  clouded.  That  flower 
which  follows  the  sun  doth  so  even  in  dark  and 
cloudy  days:  when  it  doth  not  shine  forth,  yet  it 
follows  the  hidden  course  and  motion  of  it.  So 
the  soul  that  moves  after  God  keeps  that  course 
when  He  hides  His  face;  is  content,  yea,  even 
glad  at  His  will  in  all  estates  or  conditions  or 
events.  —  R.  LEIGHTON. 


[34] 


tfelmtar? 

jfourtfy 


Comfort  the  feeble-minded,  support  the  weak,  be  patient  towards 
all  men,  —  I  Thessalonians  5  :  14. 

THY  love  shall  chant  itself  its  own  beatitudes, 
after  its  own  life  working.  A  child-kiss  set 
on  thy  sighing  lips  shall  make  thee  glad;  a  poor 
man,  served  by  thee,  shall  make  thee  rich;  a  rich 
man,  helped  by  thee,  shall  make  thee  strong;  thou 
shalt  be  served  thyself  by  every  sense  of  service 
which  thou  renderest.  —  MRS.  BROWNING. 

Doing  good  is  the  only  certainly  happy  action 
of  a  man's  life.  —  SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY. 

A  beneficent  person  is  like  a  fountain  watering 
the  earth,  and  spreading  fertility;  it  is,  therefore, 
more  delightful  and  more  honorable  to  give  than 
to  receive.  —  EPICURUS. 

There  do  remain  dispersed  in  the  soil  of  human 
nature  seeds  of  goodness,  of  benignity,  of  ingenu- 
ity which,  being  cherished,  excited,  and  quickened 
by  good  culture,  do,  by  common  experience,  thrust 
out  flowers  very  lovely,  and  yield  fruits  very 
pleasant,  of  virtue  and  goodness.  —  BARROW. 

To  feel   much   for   others   and    little    for  our- 
selves; to  restrain  our  selfish,  and  to  indulge  our 
benevolent  affections,  constitute  the  perfection  of 
human  nature.  —  ADAM  SMITH. 
[35] 


jfiftl) 

The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  deanseth  us  from  a!!  sin. 
—  I  John  1 :  7. 

IN  one  of  our  national  industries  there  is  a  daily 
miracle  wrought.  From  the  foul  herding  places 
of  the  outcast,  the  thief,  and  the  murderer,  is 
brought  their  infected,  cast-off  clothing,  to  feed 
the  hungry  jaws  of  the  paper-mills.  The  reeking 
mass  is  torn  asunder,  submitted  to  chemical  proc- 
esses, and  when  the  mighty  cylinders  cease  turn- 
ing, behold!  "The  beggar's  rags  are  transformed 
into  a  fair,  white  carpet,  whereon  royal  Thought 
may  tread;"  a  stainless  scroll  where  poets  trace 
their  dreams;  where  psalms  of  praise  glow  like 
clustered  stars,  and  the  name  of  God  is  inscribed. 

There  is  a  greater  miracle.  There  are  minds 
perverted  from  all  sweet  influences,  souls  dwarfed 
with  greed,  hearts  seared  with  crime,  lives  tainted 
with  every  passion.  But  in  each  the  divine  spark 
still  glows,  unquenchable,  deathless. 

One  pulse  from  the  God-heart  thrilling  through 
the  hand  we  extend,  one  echo  from  the  Eternal 
Voice,  in  our  whispered  "brother,"  and  sin,  stain, 
and  hurt  may  drop  away  forever,  from  that  shining 
crystal,  a  purified  soul. — MRS.  JOHN  JAY  MCCABE. 

Say  not  'twas  all  in  vain, 
The  anguish  and  the  darkness  and  the  strife; 
Love  thrown  upon  the  waters  comes  back  again 
In  quenchless  yearnings  for  a  nobler  life. 

ANNA    SHIPTON. 

[36] 


Speak  not  evil  one  of  another.  —  S.  James  4 :  2. 

HE  alone,  whose  hand  is  bounding 
Human  power  and  human  will, 
Looking  through  each  soul's  surrounding, 
Knows  its  good  or  ill. 

For  thyself,  while  wrong  and  sorrow 
Make  to  thee  their  strong  appeal, 

Coward  wert  thou  not  to  utter 
What  the  heart  must  feel. 

Earnest  words  must  needs  be  spoken 
When  the  warm  heart  bleeds  or  burns, 

With  its  scorn  of  wrong,  or  pity 
For  the  wronged,  by  turns. 

But,  by  all  thy  nature's  weakness, 
Hidden  faults  and  follies  known, 

Be  thou,  in  rebuking  evil, 
Conscious  of  thine  own. 

Not  the  less  shall  stern-eyed  duty 

To  thy  lips  her  trumpet  set,  - 
But  with  harsher  blasts  shall  mingle 

Wail  ings  of  regret. 

WHITTIER. 

There  is  nothing  that  calls  us  to  so  sharp  a  halt 
in  the  habit  of  criticism  or  fault-finding  as  taking 
one  look  into  our  own  hearts,  and  beholding  there 
all  our  own  weakness  and  inconsistency. 
[37] 


And  in  every  work  that  he  began  in  the  service  of  the  house 
of  God,  and  in  the  law,  and  in  the  commandments,  to  seek 
his  God,  he  did  it  with  all  his  heart,  and  prospered.  —  2 
Chronicles  21 :  31. 

WHEN  one's  whole  life  becomes  dominated 
by  one  fixed  purpose,  round  which  all  other 
purposes  revolve,  every  day  — •  if  it  be  a  worthy  one 
—  witnesses  the  advancement  to  a  higher  plane  of 
feeling  and  of  thought.  When  Turner,  the  great 
artist,  was  asked  where  he  gained  his  perfect  com- 
mand of  nerve  and  muscle,  he  replied,  "It  cost 
me  my  life."  So  the  habit  of  close  thought,  the 
charm  of  perfect  diction,  the  power  of  soul  beauty, 
or  mastery  of  unworthy  purposes,  must  be  paid 
for  with  strong  effort,  even  with  life,  if  need 
must. 

"  Heaven  is  not  gained  by  a  single  bound, 
But  we  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise, 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 
And  we  mount  to  its  summit  round  by  round." 

The  law  of  growth  is  from  the  inner  to  the  out- 
ward, and  our  souls  expand  with  the  expanding 
thought.  The  informed  nature  is  like  the  mock- 
ing-bird in  its  native  woods,  echoing  a  thousand 
varying  voices,  but  the  voice  it  hears  most  often, 
and  whose  voice  is  sweetest  to  its  sense,  is  the  one 
to  which  after  a  while  its  own  notes  will  be  at- 
tuned.—  MRS.  JOHN  JAY  McCABE. 


[38] 


<H;igt)tl) 

Every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest.  —  I  Corinthians 
3:i3- 

DO  your  own  work.  Ask  no  favors  of  any  one, 
and  you  will  succeed  better  than  one  who  is 
always  beseeching  some  one's  patronage.  No 
one  will  help  you  as  you  will  help  yourself,  be- 
cause no  one  will  be  as  heartily  interested  in  your 
affairs.  The  first  step  will  not  be  such  a  long  one 
perhaps;  but,  carving  your  way  up  the  mountain, 
you  make  each  step  lead  to  another,  and  stand 
firm  in  that  while  you  chop  another  out.  Men 
who  made  fortunes  are  not  those  who  had  five 
thousand  dollars  given  them  to  start  with,  but 
started  fair  with  a  well-earned  dollar  or  two.  Men 
who  by  their  exertions  acquired  fame  have  not  been 
thrust  into  popularity  by  puffs  paid  for  or  given 
in  friendly  spirit.  They  have  outstretched  their 
hands,  and  reached  the  public  heart.  Say  bravely 
"I  will,"  and  some  day  you  will  conquer.  Never 
let  any  man  say,  "I  have  dragged  you  up."  Too 
many  friends  hurt  a  man  more  than  none  at  all. 

GREENWOOD. 

Through  efforts  long  in  vain,  prophetic  need 

Begets  the  deed : 
Nerve  then  thy  soul  with  direst  need  to  cope. 

Life's  brightest  hope 
Lies  latent  in  Fate's  deadliest  lair  — 

Never  despair ! 

[39] 


We  -walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  —  2  Corinthians  5  :  7. 

"  \T  TALKING  by  faith  "  not  only  brightens  our 
V  V  hope  for  the  world  to  come,  but  it  sheds 
a  glow  over  the  temporal  life.  In  proportion  as  we 
are  seeking  to  do  the  will  of  our  Father,  in  that 
same  proportion  we  have  the  divine  approval. 
And  through  this  knowledge  our  unseen  life  is 
irradiated  with  heavenly  love  and  courage,  and  we 
look  to  the  days  that  are  coming  as  bringing  fuller 
gifts  and  richer  blessings. 

In  the  braver,  better  Sometime,  life  will  broaden 

and  expand; 
Every  impulse  will  be  noble,  every  purpose  will 

be  grand; 
Speech  shall  put  on  loftier  meanings,  thought  to 

higher  planes  ascend, 
And  the  action  prove  the  motive,  and  the  motive 

show  the  end. 

O  my  comrade  in  the  struggle,  O  my  comrade  in 

the  strife ! 
Keep  thy  courage  and  thy  patience,  fill  thy  station; 

live  thy  life; 
Twine   thy  hopes   about  the  Sometime,   trust  it 

ever,  hold  it  fast, 
Though    it  tarry,  wait  thou  for  it;  it  will  surely 

come  at  last. 

REV.    ANSON   G.    CHESTER. 
[40] 


Prove  all  things  ;   hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  —  I  Thessa- 
lonians  5:21. 

THERE  come  times  when  it  is  most  blissful  to 
be  alone,  for  it  means  a  quiet  time  to  think 
over  your  life,  and  whether  what  you  are  doing  is 
right  or  wrong.  It  means  deciding  with  your- 
self, as  judge  and  jury,  whether  the  words  that  you 
have  spoken  have  been  the  right  ones  at  the  right 
times.  It  means  the  deciding  that  which  is  good 
to  be  done,  and  the  planning  it  out  so  entirely 
that  you  are  urged  on  by  an  inward  spirit  of  grace 
to  do  the  deed  which  seems  just.  It  does  not 
mean  the  wasting  of  time  in  idle  thoughts,  though 
it  may  mean  closing  your  eyes  and  having  some 
day-dream  of  future  happiness.  This  making 
good  dreams  realities  is  a  possibility,  but  we  can't 
have  the  dreams  unless  we  have  the  little  time 
alone  when  we  can  think  out  how  the  heart  can 
beat  for  the  right,  how  the  brain  can  work  well 
for  its  realization.  —  RUTH  ASHMORE. 

He  liveth  long  who  liveth  well ! 

All  other  life  is  short  and  vain; 
He  liveth  longest  who  can  tell 

Of  living  most  for  heavenly  gain. 

Fill  up  each  hour  with  what  will  last, 

Buy  up  the  moments  as  they  go; 
The  life  above,  when  this  is  past, 

Is  the  ripe  fruit  of  life  below. 

BONAR. 

[41] 


I 


My  times  are  in  his  hand.  —  Psalm  31:15. 

The  Eternal  Goodness. 

KNOW  not  what  the  future  hath 

Of  marvel  or  surprise, 
Assured  alone  that  life  and  death 
His  mercy  underlies. 

And  if  my  heart  and  flesh  are  weak 

To  bear  an  untried  pain, 
The  bruised  reed  He  will  not  break, 

But  strengthen  and  sustain. 

No  offering  of  my  own  I  have, 

Nor  works  my  faith  to  prove, 
I  can  but  give  the  gifts  He  gave, 

And  plead  His  love  for  love. 

And  so  beside  the  Silent  Sea 

I  wait  the  muffled  oar; 
No  harm  from  Him  can  come  to  me, 

On  ocean  or  on  shore. 

I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 

Their  fronded  palms  in  air; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 

Beyond  His  love  and  care.        WHITTIER. 

If  you  believe  in  God,  do  not  vex  yourself  with 
trying  to  look  into  the  future.  There  is  one 
thought  which  ought  to  steady  every  man's  heart. 
It  is  that  God  is  perfectly  wise  and  perfectly 
good.  Let  us  accept  God  and  rest  in  Him. 
[42] 


Be  ye  also  patient.  —  S.  James  5  :  8. 

r  I  "HERE  are  a  thousand  things  whose  attain- 
JL  ment  cannot  be  hastened,  but  for  which  we 
have  to  patiently  wait,  some  to  be  realized  on  earth, 
and  more  and  better  ones  not  to  be  enjoyed  in 
their  perfection  until  the  dawn  of  heaven,  for  which 
indeed  our  whole  earthly  life  is  but  the  waiting- 
time.  The  bright  and  lofty  ideals  we  here  pursue, 
but  never  find,  there,  "  if  we  both  hope  and  quietly 
wait,"  will  be  more  than  realized.  The  faculties, 
of  whose  infinite  power  we  sometimes  feel  such 
strange  and  mysterious  intimations  within  us,  but 
which  are  hampered  and  weighed  down  by  mate- 
rial hindrances,  there,  if  we  but  wisely  wait,  will 
burst  forth  in  all  the  beauty  and  glory  of  a  sancti- 
fied and  perfected  humanity.  Mere  little  seed- 
germs  now,  we  wait  to  be  planted  by  the  rivers  of 
life  to  the  healing  of  the  nations.  —  ANON. 


Old  Year  and  New  Year  — 
It  is  all  God's  year; 
His  time  for  sowing, 

His  time  for  reaping, 
His  time  for  growing, 

For  rest  and  quiet  sleeping. 
New  Year  and  Old  Year, 

Their  hoping,  regretting, 
Will  all  turn  to  God's  year, 

With  no  time  for  fretting. 
[43] 


februar? 


The  wilderness  and  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them,  and 
the  desert  shall  blossom  as  a  rose.  —  Isaiah  35:1. 

BLESSED  be  the  man  that  really  loves  flowers  ! 
loves  them  for  their  own  sakes,  for  their 
beauty,  their  associations,  the  joy  they  have  given, 
and  always  will  give;  so  that  he  would  sit  down 
among  them  as  friends  and  companions,  if  there 
was  not  another  creature  on  earth  to  admire  or 
praise  them  !  But  such  men  need  no  blessing  of 
mine.  They  are  blessed  of  God!  Did  He  not 
make  the  world  for  such  men?  Are  they  not 
clearly  the  owners  of  the  world  and  the  richest  of 
all  men?  —  BEECHER. 

A  man  ought  to  carry  himself  in  the  world  as 
an  orange  tree  would  if  it  could  walk  up  and  down 
in  the  garden,  —  swinging  perfume  from  every 
little  censer  it  holds  up  to  the  air.  —  BEECHER. 

Thou  canst  not  see  grass  grow,  how  sharp  soe'er 

thou  be, 
Yet  that  the  grass  is  grown  thou  very  soon  canst 

see; 
So,  though  thou  canst  not  see  thy  work  now  pros- 

pering, know 
The  print  of  every  work,  time  without  fail  shall 

show. 

RUCKERT. 

Measure  a  man's  divinity  by  the  ways  his  flowers 
love  him. 

[44] 


For  me  to  live  is  Christ  and  to  die  is  gain.  —  Philippians 
I  :  21. 

Living  for  Jesus. 

LIVING  for  Jesus!  my  heart's  whole  devotion 
Henceforth  I  offer,  dear  Saviour,  to  Thee; 
Love,  like  the  tide  of  an  infinite  ocean, 

Swells  in  my  heart,  overflowing  and  free; 
Deep  unto  deep  in  my  spirit  is  calling, 

Song  after  song  do  I  joyfully  sing, 
He  who  redeemed  me  from  earthly  enthralling  — 
He  is  my  Saviour,  my  Master,  my  King. 

Strengthen    me,    Father!      Oh,    make   my   heart 

tender, 

Help  me  to  gather  the  lost  ones  who  roam, 
Help  me  to  show  them  their  Guide  and  Defender, 
Jesus,  their  Saviour,  who  bids  them  come  home; 
Help  me  to  gather  the  sad  and  forsaken, 

Teaching  their  voices  new  praises  to  sing, 
Striving  their  hearts  and  their  souls  to  awaken, 
Witnessing  ever  for  Jesus,  my  King! 

Teach  me  to  plead  with  the  wayward  who  wander, 

Help  me  to  lead  them  from  mazes  of  woe, 
Giving  the  lonely  some  sweet  word  to  ponder, 

Cheering  some  soul  on  its  way  here  below; 
Saviour,  my  faith  and  my  purposes  strengthen, 

Sheaves  to  the  harvest  of  souls  let  me  bring, 
And  while  the  days  of  eternity  lengthen 

Still  let  me  witness  for  Jesus,  my  King. 

MARTHA   CAPPS   OLIVER. 
[45] 


tfebruar? 

jftfteentt) 


Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path* 

Psalm  119:  105. 

Walk  while  ye  have  the  light.  —  S.  John  12  :  35. 

I  WANTED  to  see  the  miners  on  their  way  to 
their  homes  with  their  lamps  in  their  hats.  I 
saw  them,  and  brought  home  with  me  a  lamp  as 
a  souvenir.  I  think  it  would  be  wise  if  we  would 
select  a  truth  and  carry  it  always  with  us,  as  the 
miners  do  their  lamps.  How  would  "Love  one 
another"  do  for  the  family?  How  would  "Do 
unto  others  as  you  would  they  should  do  unto  you  " 
do  in  our  life-work? 

Ah,  the  light  makes  manifest!  The  miners 
need  their  lamps  down  in  the  darkness  of  the 
mines,  and  we  are  in  a  world  of  darkness,  and  we 
need  lamps.  There  is  a  very  striking  passage  in 
the  Psalms  that  says  :  "  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my 
feet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path."  I  am  glad  it 
says  feet;  that  looks  like  light  for  duty,  not  curi- 
osity. "It  is  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness."  There  is  always  light  enough  to 
show  us  what  to  do,  and  the  heart  has  to  do  with 
doing.  There  is  always  light  for  honest  souls. 

MARGARET   BOTTOME. 

Thus  grave  these  lessons  on  thy  soul  — 

Hope,  Faith,  and  Love  —  and  thou  shalt  find 

Strength  when  life's  surges  rudest  roll, 
Light  when  thou  else  wert  blind. 

FROM   THE   GERMAN   OF   SCHILLER. 
[46] 


februar? 


Thou  shalt  hide  them  in  the  secret  of  thy  presence.  Thou 
shalt  keep  them  secretly  in  a  pavilion  from  the  strife  of 
tongues.  '  —  Psalm  31  :  20. 

JUST  at  the  outset  of  our  work,  to  try  us  whether 
we  are  good  for  our  work,  God's  spirit  takes 
us  into  some  solitude,  some  experience,  which 
whether  it  be  enacted  afar  off  from  busy  life,  or 
in  the  very  centre  of  a  crowded  street,  makes  us 
realize  that  our  deepest  life  is  alone  and  no  other 
man's.     And  in  the  hush  of  this  holy  quiet,  we 
see  also  that  our  deepest  life  is  hid  in  Him. 


So  often,  in  the  world's  most  crowded  streets, 

But  often,  in  the  din  of  strife, 

There  rises  an  unspeakable  desire 

After  knowledge  of  our  buried  life, 

A  longing  to  inquire 

Into  the  mystery  of  this  heart  which  beats 

So  wild,  so  deep  in  us, —  to  know 

Whence  our  thoughts  come  and  where  they  go. 

MATTHEW    ARNOLD. 

Since  Thou  hast  called  us  children  and  brought 
us  into  the  secret  of  Thy  presence,  we  will  trust 
in  Thy  leadings.  Whatever  we  may  be  called  upon 
to  do,  may  we  do  it  with  an  eye  single  to  Thy 
glory,  swayed  not  by  the  clamor  of  tongues,  but 
by  the  desire  for  Thy  approval. 
[47] 


februar? 


Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens.  —  Galatians  8  :  2. 

I  EXPECT  to  pass  through  this  world  but  once. 
Any  good  thing,  therefore,  that  I  can  do,  or 
any  kindness  that  I  can  show  to  any  fellow  human 
being,  let  me  do  it  now.     Let  me  not  defer  or 
neglect  it,  for  I  shall  not  pass  this  way  again. 

UNKNOWN. 

Let  thy  alms  go  before,  and  keep  heaven's  gate 
Open  for  thee,  or  both  may  come  too  late. 

HERBERT. 

The  charities  that  soothe  and  heal  and  bless 
Are  scattered  at  the  feet  of  man  like  flowers. 

WORDSWORTH. 

Do  what  thou  dost  as  if  the  stake  were  heaven, 
And  that  thy  last  deed  ere  the  judgment  day. 

UNKNOWN. 
Rest  not!  life  is  sweeping  by; 

Do  and  dare  before  you  die. 

GOETHE. 

A  helping  word  to  one  in  trouble  is  often  like  a 
switch  on  a  railroad  track  —  but  one  inch  between 
wreck  and  smooth-rolling  prosperity.  —  BEECHER. 

Not  with  the  hope  of  gaining  aught, 

Nor  seeking  a  reward, 
But  as  Thyself  hast  loved  me, 

O  ever-loving  Lord  ! 

UNKNOWN. 

[48] 


Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled :  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also 
in  me.  —  S.  John  14:  I. 

THERE  is  no  journey  of  life  but  has  its  cloudy 
days;  and  there  are  some  days  in  which 
our  eyes  are  so  blinded  with  tears  that  we  find  it 
hard  to  see  our  way  or  even  read  God's  promises. 
Those  days  that  have  a  bright  sunrise  followed  by 
sudden  thunder-claps  and  bursts  of  unlooked-for 
sorrows  are  the  ones  that  test  certain  of  our  graces 
the  most  severely.  Yet  the  law  of  spiritual  eye- 
sight very  closely  resembles  the  law  of  physical 
optics.  When  we  come  suddenly  out  of  the  day- 
light into  a  room  even  moderately  darkened,  we 
can  discern  nothing;  but  the  pupil  of  our  eye 
gradually  enlarges  until  unseen  objects  become 
visible.  Even  so  the  pupil  of  the  eye  of  faith  has 
the  blessed  faculty  of  enlarging  in  dark  hours  of 
bereavement,  so  that  we  discover  that  our  loving 
Father's  hand  is  holding  the  cup  of  trial,  and  by 
and  by  the  gloom  becomes  luminous  with  glory. 

The  fourteenth  chapter  of  John  never  falls  with 
such  music  upon  our  ears  as  when  we  catch  its 
sweet  strains  amid  the  pauses  of  some  terrific 
storm.  "Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled:  ye  be- 
lieve in  God,  believe  also  in  Me.  ...  I  will 
not  leave  you  comfortless."  —  CUYLER. 

All  earth's  discord,  grating, 
Will  melt  at  last  to  love  divine,  complete. 

MARY   CLEMMER   AMES. 
[49] 


tfebruar? 


To  be  spiritually  minded  is  life.  —  Romans  8  :  6. 

Like  unto  a  New  Life  to   You. 
S  soon  as  you  really  say  "My  Father!     My 


Saviour!  "  all  life  will  be  changed  to  you, — 
your  interior  and  outward  life.  You  will  feel  you 
are  rich  no  matter  what  your  outward  circum- 
stances are.  You  have  a  Father;  your  Father  is 
King;  you  are  His  child, —  not  His  perfect  child, 
but  you  have  a  perfect  Father,  and  Christ  will  be 
to  you  your  elder  brother,  your  friend,  and  the  only 
friend  that  can  save  you  from  the  love  of  sin;  the 
only  friend  that  can  make  known  to  you  more  and 
more  the  love  of  God.  You  will  then  know  life, 
not  mere  existence.  A  friend  -I  once  told  you 
about,  used  to  tell  of  the  three  F's, —  Facts,  Faith, 
Feeling!  We  can  only  feel  He  is  our  Father  by 
faith;  and  faith  is  believing  a  fact.  It  is  a  fact 
that  God  is  our  Father,  who  sent  His  Son  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  world;  and  by  believing  this  fact 
we  feel  happy,  we  feel  rich,  and  we  come  to  know 
God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  He  hath  sent.  And 
thus  we  feel  the  immortal  tides  of  eternal  life  in 

US.  MARGARET    BOTTOME. 


Man  is  not  God,  but  hath  God's  end  to  serve, 

A  Master  to  obey,  a  course  to  take, 
Somewhat  to  cast  off,  somewhat  to  become. 

BROWNING. 
[so] 


The  Lord  preservelh  the  faithful.  —  Psalm  31 :  23. 

Thou  hast  been  faithful  oner  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee 

ruler  over  many  things.  —  S.  Matthew  25  :  23. 

I  HAVE  noticed  that  wherever  there  has  been  a 
faithful  following  of  the  Lord  in  a  conse- 
crated soul,  several  things  have  followed,  inevitably, 
sooner  or  later.  Meekness  and  quietness  of  spirit 
become  in  time  the  characteristics  of  the  daily 
life.  A  submissive  acceptance  of  the  will  of  God 
as  it  comes  in  the  hourly  events  of  each  day; 
pliability  in  the  hands  of  God  to  do  or  surfer  all 
the  good  pleasure  of  His  will;  sweetness  under 
provocation;  calmness  in  the  midst  of  turmoil  and 
bustle;  yieldingness  to  the  wishes  of  others,  and 
an  insensibility  to  slights  and  affronts;  absence  of 
worry  or  anxiety;  deliverance  from  care  or  fear,  — 
all  these,  and  many  similar  graces,  are  invariably 
to  be  the  natural  outward  development  of  that 
inward  life  which  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

H.   W.  S. 

To  His  own  the  Saviour  giveth 

Daily  strength, 
To  each  faithful  soul  that  liveth, 

Peace  at  length; 
Therefore  whatsoe'er  betideth, 

Night  or  day, 
Know  His  love  for  thee  provideth 

Good  alway. 


Ye  people,  pour  out  your  heart  before  him  :   God  is  a  refuge 
for  us.  —  Psalm  62 :  8. 

T  T  7HATSOEVER  it  is  that  presses  thee,  go  tell 
V  V  thy  Father;  put  over  the  matter  into  His 
hand,  and  so  thou  shall  be  freed  from  that  divid- 
ing, perplexing  care  that  the  world  is  full  of. 
When  thou  art  either  to  do  or  to  suffer  anything, 
when  thou  art  about  any  purpose  or  business,  go 
tell  God  of  it,  and  acquaint  Him  with  it;  yea, 
burden  Him  with  it,  and  thou  hast  done  for  the 
matter  of  caring.  —  R.  LEIGHTON. 

Thou  Refuge  of  my  soul, 

On  Thee,  when  sorrows  rise, 
On  Thee,  when  waves  of  trouble  roll, 

My  fainting  hope  relies. 
To  Thee  I  tell  my  grief, 

For  Thou  alone  canst  heal. 
Thy  word  can  bring  a  sweet  relief 

For  every  pain  I  feel. 

But,  oh,  when  doubts  prevail, 

I  fear  to  call  Thee  mine; 
The  springs  of  comfort  seem  to  fail, 

And  all  my  hopes  decline. 
Yet,  Lord,  where  shall  I  flee? 

Thou  art  my  only  trust; 
And  still  my  soul  would  cleave  to  Thee 

Though  prostrate  in  the  dust. 

ANNA   STEELE. 


februar? 


Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not. 
S.  Matthew  19  :  14. 

IT  lies  around  us  like  a  cloud,  — 
A  world  we  do  not  see; 
Yet  the  sweet  closing  of  an  eye 
May  bring  us  there  to  be. 

Sweet  hearts  around  us  throb  and  beat, 
Sweet  helping  hands  are  stirred, 

And  palpitates  the  veil  between 
With  breathings  almost  heard. 

The  silence  —  awful,  sweet,  and  calm  — 
They  have  no  power  to  break; 

For  mortal  words  are  not  for  them 
To  utter  or  partake. 

So  thin,  so  soft,  so  sweet  they  glide, 
So  near  to  press  they  seem  — 

They  seem  to  lull  us  to  our  rest, 
And  melt  into  our  dream. 

Sweet  souls  around  us!  watch  us  still, 

Press  nearer  to  our  side, 
Into  our  thoughts,  into  our  prayers, 

With  gentle  helpings  glide. 

Let  death  between  us  be  as  naught, 
A  dried  and  vanished  stream; 

Your  joy  be  the  reality, 

Our  suffering  life  the  dream. 

HARRIET    BEECHER    STOWE. 
[S3] 


tfebruar? 


As  water  spilt  upon  the  ground.  —  2  Samuel  14  :  14. 

CAN   you  put  .the   spider's   web  back  in  its 
place,  that  once  has  been  swept  away? 
Can  you  put  the  apple  again  on  the  bough,  which 

fell  at  your  feet  to-day? 
Can  you  put  the  lily-cup  back  on  its  stem,  and 

cause  it  to  live  and  grow? 
Can  you  mend  the  butterfly's  broken  wing,  that 

you  crushed  with  a  hasty  blow? 
Can  you  put  the  bloom  again  on  the  grape,  or  the 

grape  again  on  the  vine? 
Can  you  put  the  dewdrops  back  on  the  flowers,  and 

make  them  sparkle  and  shine? 
Can  you  put  the  petals  back  on  the  rose?     If  you 

could,  would  it  smell  as  sweet? 
Can  you  put  the  flour  again  in  the  husk,  and  show 

me  the  ripened  wheat? 
Can  you  put  the  kernel  back  in  the  nut,  or  the  egg 

in  its  dainty  shell  ? 
Can  you  put  the  honey  back  in  its  comb,  and  cover 

with  wax  each  cell? 
Can  you  put  the  perfume  back  in  .its  vase,  when 

once  it  has  sped  away? 
Can  you  put  the  corn-silk  back  on  the  corn,  or  the 

down  on  the  catkins  —  say? 
You  think  that  my  questions  are  trifling,  dear?  Let 

me  ask  you  another  one  : 
Can  a  hasty  word  ever  be  unsaid,  or  a  deed  unkind, 

undone?  KATE  LAWRENCE. 

[54] 


He  that  tonchethyou  toucheth  the  apple  of  his  eye.  —  Zecha- 
riah  1 1 :  8. 

IMSELF  took  our  infirmities."  We  love  to 
clasp  this  truth  to  our  hearts  that  all  the 
weak,  fainting,  falling  ones  of  earth  may  know  that 
their  Saviour  sympathizes  with  all  their  struggles. 

If  I  could  only  surely  know 

That  all  these  things  that  tire  me  so 

Were  noticed  by  my  Lord ! 
The  pang  that  cuts  me  like  a  knife, 
The  noise,  the  weariness,  the  strife  — 

What  peace  it  would  afford ! 

It  seems  to  me,  if  sure  of  this, 

Blent  with  each  ill  would  come  such  bliss 

That  I  might  covet  pain, 
And  deem  whatever  brought  to  me 
The  loving  thought  of  Deity, 
And  sense  of  Christ's  sweet  sympathy, 

Not  loss,  but  richest  gain. 

Dear  Lord,  my  heart  shall  no  more  doubt 
That  Thou  dost  compass  me  about 

With  sympathy  divine; 
The  love  for  me  once  crucified 
Is  not  the  love  to  leave  my  side, 
But  waiteth  ever  to  divide 

Each  smallest  care  of  mine. 

SELECTED. 

[55] 


One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after. 
Psalm  27 : 4. 

OINGLENESS  of  aim  is  one  great  secret  of 
w_}  success.  We  cannot  do  better  than  by  setting 
before  our  souls  some  "one  thing"  for  which  we 
mean  to  live.  The  Psalmist  says :  "  One  thing  have 
I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after." 
Christ  said  to  Martha  of  Bethany :  "  One  thing  is 
needful,  and  Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part 
which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  her."  And 
the  Apostle  Paul  says,  "This one  thing  I  do."  It 
is  profitable  to  direct  our  thoughts  to  these  three 
things,  the  "one  thing  desirable  "  ;  the  "one  thing 
needful";  the  "one  thing  to  be  done." 

"  One  thing,"  said  David,  "  is  my  heart's  desire : 
I  wish  to  dwell  forever  with  my  God; 

Within  His  holy  temple  to  inquire, 

And  see  His  beauty  in  His  own  abode." 

"One  thing  is  needful,"  said  the  faithful  Lord 
To  her  who  served  Him  with  too  bustling  care; 

"  To  listen  to  My  voice,  receive  My  word 
Into  thy  heart,  and  entertain  Me  there." 

"One  thing,"  said  Paul,  "I  do,  and  only  one: 
Forgetting  things  behind,  I  keep  mine  eyes 

Fixed  on  the  goal,  till  all  my  race  be  run, 
And  still  press  on,  that  I  may  win  the  prize." 

E.    CAMPBELL    FINLAYSON. 
[56] 


february 


/  will  make  darkness  light  before  them,  and  crooked  things 
straight.  —  Isaiah  13  :  1  6. 

ABOVE  the  battle  of  inquiry  and  falsehood  is 
clearly  heard  the  prayer  from  the  burdened 
heart  of  young  Schiller,  "  What  am  I  without  truth, 
without  her  leadership  through  life's  labyrinths? 
A  wanderer  in  the  wilderness,  overtaken  by  night, 
with  no  friendly  hand  to  lead  me,  no  guiding  star 
to  show  me  the  way.  Doubt,  uncertainty,  scepti- 
cism !  But  Truth,  thou  leadest  us  safely  through 
life,  bearest  the  torch  before  us  in  the  dark  vale 
of  death,  and  bringest  us  home  to  heaven  where 
thou  wast  born.  O  my  God,  keep  my  heart  in 
peace  in  that  holy  rest  during  which  Truth  loves 
best  to  visit  us."  —  UNKNOWN. 

When  man  in  error  gropes 
Night  under  night  still  opes: 
Goodness  is  horror  then, 
And  demons  dwell  in  men. 
But  when  lie  thinks  aright, 
A  fount  of  dazzling  light 
From  evil's  darkness  bursts 
To  satiate  his  thirsts. 

ORIENTAL   POETRY. 

This  is  the  thought  all  fears  to  soothe, 

"Crooked  made  straight  and  rough  made  smooth." 

MARTHA    CAPPS    OLIVER. 
[57] 


Lord,  increase  our  faith.  —  S.  Luke  17:  5. 

I  HEAR  men  praying  everywhere  for  more  faith; 
but  when  I  listen  to  them  carefully  and  get  at 
the  real  heart  of  their  prayers,  very  often  it  is  not 
more  faith  at  all  that  they  are  wanting,  but  a  change 
from  faith  to  sight.  Faith  says  not,  "  I  see  that  it 
is  good  for  me,  and  so  God  must  have  sent  it,"  but 
"God  sent  it,  and  so  it  must  be  good  for  me." 
Faith  walking  in  the  dark  with  God  only  prays 
Him  to  clasp  its  hand  more  closely,  does  not  even 
ask  Him  for  the  lifting  of  the  darkness  so  that 
the  man  may  find  the  way  himself. 

PHILLIPS   BROOKS. 

So  runs  the  law,  the  law  of  recompense, 

That  binds  our  life  on  earth  and  heaven  in  one; 

Faith  cannot  live  where  all  is  sight  and  sense, 
But  faith  can  live  and  sing  when  these  are  gone. 

We  grieve  and  murmur,  for  we  can  but  see 
The  single  thread  that  flies  in  silence  by; 

When  if  we  only  saw  the  things  to  be, 

Our  lips  would  breathe  a  song  and  not  a  sigh. 

Wait  then,  my  soul,  and  edge  the  darkening  cloud 
With  the  bright  gold  that  Hope  can  always  lend; 

And  if  to-day  thou  art  with  sorrow  bowed, 
Wait  till  to-morrow  and  thy  grief  shall  end. 

HENRY    BURTON. 
[58] 


felmtar? 


Be  at  peace.  —  Job  22:21. 

BLESSED  is  that  man  who  can  retire  from  the 
world  to  be  alone  with  himself  and  God. 
The  reserved  nature  is  often  the  fullest  and  rich- 
est in  its  endowments,  and  is  always,  perhaps,  the 
one  most  directly  in  communion  with  unseen 
things.  The  spirit  of  such  a  man  becomes,  while 
yet  on  earth,  the  peaceful  throne  of  the  Divine 
Being.  Gentle,  quiet,  and  reverent,  it  constrains 
all  who  approach  it  to  escape  from  the  toils  of 
earthly  life  and  enter  into  the  calm  and  serenity 
of  the  spiritual  atmosphere.  It  is  a  silent  witness 
for  truth  and  purity;  it  leads  men  invisibly  to  a 
higher  plane  of  action,  and  draws  heaven  and  earth 
closer  together  by  the  strength  of  its  own  high  pur- 
pose. The  deeper  one  goes  into  such  a  nature  as 
this,  the  richer  is  the  treasure  that  he  finds. 

There  are  some  hearts  like  wells,  green-mossed 
and  deep 

As  ever  Summer  saw; 

And  cool  their  water  is,  yea,  cool  and  sweet; 
But  you  must  come  to  draw. 

CAROLINE  S.   SPENCER. 

Thought  is  deeper  than  all  speech, 
Feeling  deeper  than  all  thought; 

Souls  to  souls  can  never  teach 
What  unto  themselves  was  taught. 

CHRISTOPHER   PEARSE   CRANCH. 
[59] 


Whether  .  .  .  life  or  death  or  things  present  or  things  to  come, 
all  are  yours.  —  I  Corinthians  3 :  22. 

PATHOS  conies  into  our  lives  from  the  con- 
sciousness that  life  still  passes,  and  that  all 
of  its  associations,  however  tender,  must  at  last  be 
broken.  Many  have  left  us,  many  more  will  go, 
and  sometime,  we  know  not  when,  we  also  must  go 
out  to  come  not  back  again.  How  that  fact  has 
broken  in  startlingly  upon  our  thoughts  sometimes, 
and  we  have  looked  in  each  other's  faces  with  the 
question,  Which  of  us  shall  go  and  leave  the  other 
behind?  .  .  .  We  cannot  be  wholly  glad  while 
this  certainty  of  separation  remains;  a  shadow 
must  fall  upon  our  souls  so  long  as  this  question 
rises  in  our  eyes  when  we  look  into  each  other's 
faces.  It  ought  not  to  destroy  our  happiness  nor 
cast  a  gloom  over  our  lives,  but  it  must  give  us 
moments  of  tender  and  serious  thoughtfulness. 

J.  T.  McFARLAND. 

Alas  for  him  who  never  sees 
The  stars  shine  through  his  cypress  trees; 
Who  hopeless  lays  his  dead  away, 
Nor  looks  to  see  the  breaking  day 
Across  the  mournful  marbles  play; 
Who  hath  not  learned  in  hours  of  faith 
That  truth  to  flesh  and  sense  unknown, 
That  life  is  ever  lord  of  death, 

And  love  can  never  lose  its  own. 

WHITTIER. 
[60] 


jftrst 

Zf/  the  peace  of  God  rule  in  your  hearts.  —  Colossians  3:15. 

OD  is  a  tranquil  Being,  and  abides  in  a  tran- 
quil eternity.  So  must  thy  spirit  become 
a  tranquil  and  clear  little  pool,  wherein  the  serene 
life  of  God  can  be  mirrored.  Therefore  shun  all 
that  is  disquieting  and  distracting,  both  within  and 
without. 

Nothing  in  the  whole  world  is  worth  the  loss  of 
thy  peace  ;  even  the  faults  which  thou  hast  com- 
mitted should  only  humble,  but  not  disquiet  thee. 

G.  TERSTEGEN. 

Drop  thy  still  dews  of  quietness 

Till  all  our  strivings  cease ; 
Take  from  our  souls  the  strain  and  stress, 
And  let  our  ordered  lives  confess 

The  beauty  of  Thy  peace. 

WHITTIER. 

With  deeper  voice  than  any  speech 
Of  mortal  lips  from  man  to  man, 
What  earth's  unwisdom  may  not  teach 
The  spirit  only  can. 

WHITTIER. 
[61] 


The  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  are  eternal.  —  2  Corinthians  4:18. 

WE  wonder  what  they  talk  of  in  that  other 
world,  and  if  they  keep  their  interest  in 
things  which  were  so  dear  to  them  and  to  us  while 
we  were  yet  together.  Do  they  who  shared  our 
lives,  our  hopes  and  sorrows,  and  strivings,  do  they 
know  it  all  now?  Or  has  it  passed  away  from  them 
forever  as  being  of  the  "  things  temporal "  ? 

It  is  not  given  us  to  know  these  things,  but  we 
do  know  that  we  may  look  forward  to  our  common 
interests  in  "  the  things  which  are  not  seen  but  are 
eternal,"  and  that  we  will  be  "satisfied." 

We  know  not  when,  we  know  not  where, 
We  know  not  what  that  world  will  be, 
But  this  we  know :  it  will  be  fair 
To  see. 

With  heart  athirst  and  thirsty  face 

We  know  and  know  not  what  shall  be  :  — 
Christ  Jesus  bring  us  of  His  grace 
To  see. 

Christ  Jesus  bring  us  of  His  grace 

Beyond  all  prayers  our  hopes  can  pray, 
One  day  to  see  Him  face  to  face,  — 
One  day. 

CHRISTINA   ROSSETTI. 

[62] 


Qar  not,  but  let  your  hands  be  strong.  — Zechariah  8: 13. 

IT  is  not  enough  for  a  man  to  build  a  ship  so  that 
it  looks  beautiful  as  it  stands  on  the  stocks. 
What  though  a  man  build  his  vessel  so  trim  and 
graceful  that  all  admire  it,  if  when  she  comes  to  be 
launched  she  is  not  fit  for  the  sea,  if  she  cannot 
stand  stormy  weather,  if  she  is  a  slow  sailer  and  a 
poor  carrier,  if  she  is  liable  to  founder  on  the  voy- 
age ?  A  ship,  however  comely  she  may  be,  is  not 
good  for  anything  unless  she  can  battle  with  the 
deep.  That  is  the  place  to  test  her.  All  her  fine 
lines  and  grace  and  beauty  are  of  no  account 
if  she  fails  there.  It  makes  no  difference  how 
splendidly  you  build  so  far  as  this  world  is  con- 
cerned, your  life  is  a  failure  unless  you  build  so 
that  you  can  go  out  into  the  great  future  on  the 
eternal  sea  of  life.  We  are  to  live  on.  We  are 
not  to  live  again,  but  we  are  to  live  without  break. 
Death  is  not  an  end.  It  is  a  new  impulse. 

BEECHER. 

When  through  the  torn  sail  the  wild  tempest  is 
streaming, 

When  o'er  the  dark  wave  the  red  lightning  is 
gleaming, 

Nor  hope  lends  a  ray,  the  poor  seaman  to  cherish, 

We  fly  to  our  maker,  —  "  Save,  Lord,  or  we  per- 
ish !"  REGINALD  HEBER. 


jfourtl) 

The  Lord  is  my  shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want.     He  restoreth^. 
Mf>  sou!:  he  leadeth  me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  for  his 
name's  sake-  —  Psalm  23  :  i,  3. 

THE  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  He  leadeth  my  soul 
In  pastures  all  pleasant  and  green, 
I  rest  in  His  shadow,  I  walk  in  His  light, 

And  food  from  His  harvests  I  glean ; 
Beside  the  cool  waters  and  rivers  of  peace 

Which  sparkle  with  life  as  they  flow, 
Refreshing  my  heart  and  reviving  my  strength 
He  guides  me,  as  onward  I  go. 

My  soul  He  restoreth,  when  wandering  astray, 

His  patience  unfailing  abides, 
He  heals  me  when  broken,  redeems  when  oppressed, 

And  loves  me  the  while  that  He  chides ; 
My  eyes  may  be  holden  from  seeing  His  face  — 

He  leadeth  me,  leadeth  me  still, 
In  paths  of  the  righteous,  by  ways  that  He  knows, 

Where  nothing  can  work  me  an  ill. 

The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd,  a  table  He  spreads 

In  presence  of  those  whom  I  fear, 
Anointing  my  head  with  a  baptism  sweet, 

As  ever  He  draweth  more  near. 
His  bounty  provides  for  my  every  need, 

With  plenty  He  blesses  my  board, 
Each  day  brings  its  manna,  refreshing  my  strength, — 

Tis  mine  ere  the  gift  is  implored. 

MARTHA  CAPPS  OLIVER. 
[64] 


If  any  man  love  God  the  same  is  known  of  him  ,  —  i  Corin- 
thians 8  :  3. 


of  my  Love,  lean  hard  ! 
And  let  Me  feel  the  pressure  of  thy  care  ; 
I  know  thy  burden,  for  I  fashioned  it  ; 
Poised  it  in  My  own  Hand,  and  made  its  weight 
Precisely  that  which  I  saw  best  for  thee, 
And  when  I  placed  it  on  thy  shrinking  form 
I  said,  "  I  shall  be  near,  and  while  thou  leanest 
On  Me,  this  burden  shall  be  Mine  not  thine." 
So  shall  I  keep  within  My  circling  arms, 
The  child  of  My  own  Love  ;  here  lay  it  down 
Nor  fear  to  weary  Him  who  made,  upholds, 
And  guides  the  universe.     Yet  closer  come  ; 
Thou  art  not  near  enough.     Thy  care,  thyself 
Lay  both  on  Me,  that  I  may  feel  my  child 
Reposing  on  my  heart.     Thou  lovest  me 
I  doubt  it  not  ;  then  loving  Me,  lean  hard. 

Let  the  fearful  and  timid  one  see  that  God  is 
love  —  essentially  and  eternally  —  love  to  all  and 
therefore  to  him  ;  and  that  God  has  done  and 
suffered  all  that  love  could  suggest  for  the  well- 
being  of  His  creatures.  ALEXANDER  RALEIGH. 

Be  what  thou  seemest  !  live  thy  creed  ! 

Hold  up  to  earth  the  touch  divine  ; 
Be  what  thou  prayest  to  be  made, 
Let  the  great  Master's  steps  be  thine. 

BONAR. 

[65] 


God  is  in  heaven  and  thou  upon  earth;   therefore   let  thy 
words  be  few.  —  Ecclesiastes  5  :  2. 

POSSIBLY  the  highest  point  where  human  weak- 
ness manifests  itself  is  in  an  effort  at  expres- 
sion. The  human  heart  resembles  the  sea.  One 
day  it  lies  like  a  calm,  untroubled  lake  ;  soon  to  be 
lashed  into  fury,  and  then  subside  into  moans  and 
sobs,  as  though  longing  to  give  voice  to  its  sorrow, 
or  carry  its  mighty  secret  up  to  the  surface,  and 
bear  it  proudly  to  the  shore.  Words  are  the  only 
vessels  in  which  we  can  make  our  voyages  on  the 
sea  of  thought,  and  weak  and  frail  they  are,  indeed. 
We  struggle  for  recognition,  for  expression,  for  the 
power  of  utterance,  but  we  struggle  sometimes  in 
vain.  Not  so  with  God.  His  forms  of  expression 
are  too  manifest  for  our  understanding.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  open  the  eyes  without  beholding  some 
expression  of  divinity.  j.  T.  MACFARLAND. 

The  thoughts  that  in  our  hearts  keep  pace, 
Lord,  make  a  holy,  heavenly  throng, 

And  steep  in  innocence  and  grace 
The  issue  of  each  guarded  tongue. 

T.  H.  GILL. 

If  singing  breath  or  echoing  chord 
To  every  hidden  pang  were  given, 

What  endless  melodies  were  poured, 
As  sad  as  earth,  as  sweet  as  heaven  ! 

HOLMES. 

[66] 


Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  laiu.  —  Rom'ans  13 :  10. 

LOVE  is  lost  by  thoughtlessness,  by  incon- 
sideration,  and  by  selfishness,  more  than  by 
any  other  way.  Do  you  want  to  lose  your  love  ? 
It  is  like  those  old  Venetian  glasses,  fine,  slender, 
and  delicate  ;  pour  into  one  all  the  great  wealth  of 
your  affection  and  the  glass  will  hold  it,  but  let  one 
drop  of  the  poison  of  self-will  or  indifference  get 
there  and  the  glass  is  shattered  into  a  thousand 
pieces. 

Where  are  only  stems  and  thorns 
Veiled  in  curled  leaves,  dead  and  brown, 
Gardens  where  we  only  see 
Where  the  roses  used  to  be  ! 

ELIZABETH   AKERS   ALLEN. 

Say  never  ye  loved  once, 

God  is  too  near  above,  the  grave  below, 

And  all  our  moments  go 

Too  quickly  past  our  souls  for  saying  so. 

The  mysteries  of  life  and  death  avenge 

Affections  light  of  range  ; 

There  comes  no  change  to  justify  that  change. 

MRS.  BROWNING. 

Oh  !  cast  thou  not 

Affection  from  thee  !     In  this  bitter  world, 
Hold  to  thy  heart  that  only  treasure  fast ; 
Watch,  guard  it  —  suffer  not  a  breath  to  dim 
The  bright  gem's  purity.         FELICIA  HEMANS. 
[67] 


Dap 

Grievous  "words  stir  'up  anger.  —  Proverbs  15:1. 

Put  out  the  Fire. 

WHEN  our  houses  take  fire,  says  Dr.  Cuyler, 
the  first  impulse  is  to  go  after  a  bucket  of 
water.     But  if  temper  takes  fire,  the  first  impulse 
is  to  throw  on  more  fuel. 

Now  the  best  bucket  of  water  for  a  roused  tem- 
per is  resolute  silence.  If,  whenever  an  irritating 
act  were  done,  or  an  injury  struck  us,  we  should 
firmly  seal  our  lips  for  even  ten  minutes,  we  would 
save  ourselves  many  a  quarrel,  many  a  heartburn, 
many  a  mortification,  many  a  disgrace  to  our 
religious  profession.  Speech  is  often  explosive 
and  shattering.  Silence  is  cooling.  It  cools  us 
off  and  cools  other  people.  One  of  the  calmest 
men  I  ever  knew  told  me  that  he  used  to  be 
violently  passionate,  but  he  broke  his  temper  by 
resolutely  bridling  his  tongue  until  his  anger  died 
away. 

Come,  here  is  work  —  and  a  rank  field  —  begin  ! 

Put  thou  thine  edge  to  the  great  weeds  of  sin ; 
So  shalt  thou  find  the  use  of  life,  and  see 
Thy  Lord  at  set  of  sun, 
Approach  and  say,  "  Well  done  !  " 

E.  W.  ELLSWORTH. 

Let  your  spirit  dwell  upon  the  sunny  hilltops  of 
serenity,  where  the  shadows  cast  by  ill-temper  and 
evil  spirits  can  never  reach. 

[68J 


Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great 
a  cloud  of  "witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the 
sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  tts,  and  let  us  run  with  patience 
the  race  that  is  set  before  us.  — Hebrews  12  :  I. 

WE  are  compassed  about  by  a  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses, whose   hearts   throb   in    sympathy 
with  every  effort  and  struggle,  and  who  thrill  with 
joy  at  every  success. 

HARRIET   BEECHER    STOWE. 


"  I  am  working  alone  and  no  one  heeds  !  " 

Who  says  so  does  not  know 
There  are  clear  eyes  watching  on  every  side, 

And  wherever  our  feet  may  go, 
We  are  "  compassed  about  with  so  great  a  crowd," 

That  if  we  could  only  see, 
We  never  could  think  that  our  life  is  small, 

Or  that  we  may  unnoticed  be  ! 

We  seem  to  suffer  and  bear  alone 

Life's  burden  and  all  its  care ; 
And  the  sighs  and  prayers  of  the  heavy  heart 

Vanish  into  the  air ; 
But  we  do  not  suffer  or  work  alone, 

And  after  a  victory  won, 
Who  knows  how  happy  the  hosts  may  be 

Who  whisper  a  soft  "  Well  done  !  " 

MARIANNE    FARNINGHAM. 
[69] 


A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches.  —  Prov- 
erbs 22:  i. 

A  good  name  is  better  than  precious  ointment.  —  Ecclesiastes 
T.I. 

SUCH  a  name  is  better  than  "great  riches."  Its 
money  value  is  wealth.  Its  character  value  is 
beyond  estimate.  He  who  has  a  large  balance  to 
his  credit  in  the  confidence,  the  affection  and  sym- 
pathies of  his  fellow-men,  is  far  richer  than  one 
whose  name  is  worth  just  so  many  dollars.  In  the 
one  case,  the  money  is  the  basis  of  confidence. 
In  the  other,  the  man.  To  get  a  fortune  and  keep 
a  good  name,  is  surely  better  than  riches  without  a 
good  name. 

But  now  and  then  there  are  cases  where  men 
preserve  their  integrity,  and  yet  do  not  achieve 
financial  success.  Misfortune  may  pursue  them,  or 
they  may  lack  business  judgment ;  fire  or  storm 
may  keep  a  man's  losses  up  with  his  gains,  and  he 
may  die  poor,  even  though  bearing  a  good  name. 
What  have  we  to  say  of  such  an  one?  Why,  just 
what  Scripture  says  :  "  A  good  name  is  better  than 
precious  ointment."  Riches  are  temporal,  but 
character  is  eternal.  EARL  CRANSTON. 

His  the  name  that's  nearest  heaven, 

Godward  breathed  in  full  heart's  praise, 
Who  most  thorns  has  drawn,  not  driven ; 
Mirrored  back  most  tears  on  face 
Of  poor  Humanity. 
[70] 


Consider  the  lilies  how  they  grow :  they  toil  not,  they  spin 
not ;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  Solomon  in  all  his  glory 
was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  —  S.  Luke  12 :  27. 

MY  heart  is  weary  for  the  lilies.     Oh, 
That  I  might  wander  far  beyond  the  snow 
And  find  the  garden  where  the  lilies  grow  ! 

Lilies,  clean  silver  lilies  to  illume 
And  glorify  the  dimness  of  my  room, 
Lilies  of  light  to  penetrate  the  gloom. 

Not  the  bright  roses  of  the  shining  day ; 
Roses  are  fittest  when  the  hour  is  gay ; 
For  holy-hearted  lilies  now  I  pray. 

Christ !  make  Thine  Easter  lilies  bloom  again  ! 
See,  how  Thy  poor  are  crying  out  in  pain, 
And  all  the  land  is  full  of  snow  and  rain.  . 

Sharp  is  the  wind,  and  cutting  is  the  sleet, 

Cold  and  unclean  we  walk  the  street ; 

Cold  and  unclean  —  the  mire  about  our  feet. 

In  vain  we  turn  for  hope  toward  Thy  sky ; 

Clouds  are  so  dense,  and  Heaven  —  alas — so  high. 

No  sun  shines  visible  to  human  eye. 

Show  us,  O  Thou  who  once  removed  our  stain, 
We  need  not  pray  for  purity  in  vain  ! 
Christ !  bid  Thy  solemn  lilies  bloom  again. 

BLANCHE   NEVIN. 
[71] 


He  that  loveth  life  shall  lose  it ;  and  he  thathateth  his  life  in 
this  ivor Id  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal.  — S.  John  12  :  25. 

IF  pain  were  banished  from  the  earth  life  would 
become  utterly  unfruitful.  Neither  nations  nor 
individuals  make  any  history  in  peace.  We  are 
always  trying  to  make  life  what  it  never  can  be  — 
safe,  constant,  and  equal.  If  we  could  succeed  in 
this  effort,  this  severe  and  measured  existence 
would  have  little  value ;  for  we  are  so  made  that 
sad  meanings  are  the  highest  meanings  —  the  only 
largely  significant  expressions  of  the  eternal  will  as 
revealed  in  us. 

Pity  and  need 

Make  all  flesh  kin.     There  is  no  caste  in  blood, 
Which  runneth  of  one  hue,  nor  caste  in  tears, 
Which  trickle  salt  with  all ;  neither  comes  man 
To  birth  with  title-mark  stamped  on  the  brow, 
Nor  sacred  thread  on  neck.    Who  doth  right  deeds 
Is  twice-born,  and  who  doeth  ill  deeds  vile. 

EDWIN   ARNOLD. 

Hear  then  this  lesson ;  hear  and  learn  : 
He  who  would  save  his  soul,  I  say, 

Must  lose  his  soul ;  must  dare  to  turn 
And  lift  the  fallen  by  the  way  ; 

Must  make  his  soul  worth  saving  by  some  deed 

That  grows  and  grows,  as  grows  a  fruitful  seed. 

JOAQUIN    MILLER. 

[73] 


Bear  ye   one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ.  —  Galatians  6 :  2. 

IF  you  were  toiling  up  a  weary  hill 
Bearing  a  load  beyond  your  strength  to  bear, 
Straining  each  nerve  untiringly,  and  still 

Stumbling  and  losing  foothold  here  and  there, 
And  each  one  passing  by  would  do  so  much 

As  give  one  upward  lift,  and  go  his  way, 
Would  not  the  slight  reiterated  touch 

Of  help  and  kindness  lighten  all  the  day  ? 

If  you  were  breasting  a  keen  wind,  which  tossed 

And  buffeted  and  chilled  you  as  you  strove, 
Till,  baffled  and  bewildered  quite,  you  lost 

The  power  to  see  the  way,  and  aim  and  move, 
And  one,  if  only  for  a  moment's  space, 

Gave  you  a  shelter  from  the  bitter  blast, 
Would  you  not  find  it  easier  to  face 

The  storm  again  when  the  brief  rest  was  past? 

There  is  no  little  and  there  is  no  much ; 

We  weigh  and  measure  and  define  in  vain. 
A  look,  a  word,  or  a  responsive  touch 

Can  be  the  ministers  of  joy  to  pain ; 
A  man  can  die  of  hunger  walled  in  gold, 

A  crumb  may  quicken  hope  to  stronger  breath, 
And  every  day  we  give  or  we  withhold 

Some  little  thing  which  tells  for  life  and  death. 

SUSAN   COOLIDGE. 

*    [73] 


jfottrteentl) 

Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good.  —  Psalm  37 :  3. 

BUILD  a  little  fence  of  trust 
Around  to-day, 
Fill  the  space  with  loving  work 

And  therein  stay ; 
Look  not  through  the  sheltering  bars 

Upon  to-morrow, 

God  will  help  thee  bear  what  comes, 
Of  joy  or  sorrow. 

MARY  F.  BUTTS. 

When  God  is  in  the  midst  of  a  kingdom  or  a 
city,  He  makes  it  as  firm  as  Mount  Zion  that  can- 
not be  removed.  When  He  is  in  the  midst  of  a 
soul,  though  calamities  throng  about  it  on  all  hands, 
yet  there  is  a  constant  calm  within,  such  a  peace  as 
the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away.  What  is 
it  but  want  of  God  in  men's  hearts  that  makes  them 
shake  like  leaves  at  every  blast  of  danger  ? 

R.   LEIGHTON. 

Why  is  sun  more  bright  than  rain? 

Why  does  night  bring  forth  the  day  ? 
Why  do  souls  grow  strong  through  pain? 
Tis  God's  way. 

Him  to  trust  though  sunbeams  fail, 

Him  to  love  though  loves  decay, 
Him  to  see  behind  the  veil, 
Be  my  way. 

[74]         % 


jfiftrnufy 

/?«/  //;/j  /  say,  brethren,  the  time  is  short.  —  I  Corinthians 
7:29. 

I  SOMETIMES  feel  the  thread  of  life  is  slender 
And  soon  with  me  the  labor  will  be  wrought, 
Then  grows  my  heart  to  other  hearts  more  tender, 
The  time 
The  time  is  short. 

Up,  up,  my  soul,  the  long-spent  time  redeeming, 
Sow  thou  the  seeds  of  better  deed  and  thought : 
Light  other  lamps  while  yet  thy  light  is  beaming, 
The  time 
The  time  is  short. 

By  all  the  lapses  thou  hast  been  forgiven, 
By  all  the  lessons  prayer  to  thee  hath  taught, 
To  others  teach  the  sympathetic  heaven. 
The  time 
The  time  is  short. 

HEZEKIAH   BUTTERWORTH. 

He  whose  days  pass  without  imparting  and  receiv- 
ing is  like  the  bellows  of  a  smith  :  he  breathes  in- 
deed, but  he  does  not  live.  HINDU  PROVERB. 

Thou  fadest  as  a  flower,  O  man  ! 

Of  food  for  musing  here  is  store. 

O  man,  thou  fallest  as  a  leaf ! 

Pace  thoughtfully  earth's  leaf-strewn  floor. 

R.  C.  TRENCH. 

[75] 


Serve  him  with  a  perfect  heart  and  •willing  mind.  —  I  Chron- 
icles 28 :  9. 

Not  slothful  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord.  — 
Romans  12:2. 

LET  us  bow  our  souls  and  say,  "  Behold  the 
handmaid  of  the  Lord  !  "  Let  us  lift  up  our 
hearts  and  ask,  "  Lord,  what  wouldst  Thou  have  me 
do?"  Then  light  from  the  opened  heaven  shall 
stream  on  our  daily  task,  revealing  the  grains  of 
gold,  where  yesterday  all  seemed  dust ;  a  hand 
shall  sustain  us  and  our  burden,  so  that,  smiling  at 
yesterday's  fears,  we  shall  say,  "  This  is  easy,  this  is 
light  "  ;  every  "  lion  in  the  way,"  as  we  come  up  to 
it,  shall  be  chained,  and  leave  open  the  gates  of  the 
Palace  Beautiful ;  and  to  us,  even  to  us,  feeble  and 
fluctuating  as  we  are,  ministries  shall  be  assigned, 
and  through  our  hands  blessings  shall  be  conveyed 
in  which  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  might 

delight.  ELIZABETH   CHARLES. 

Mine  be  the  reverent,  listening  love 

That  waits  all  day  on  Thee, 
With  the  service  of  a  watchful  heart 

Which  no  one  else  can  see. 

A.  L.  WARING. 

Waste  not  thy  being ;  back  to  Him 
Who  freely  gave  it,  freely  give  ; 

Else  is  that  being  but  a  dream ; 

'Tis  but  to  be,  and  not  to  live.     BONAR. 
[76] 


Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you.  —  S.  Matthew  7  :  8. 

I  ASKED  for  bread  :  God  gave  a  stone  instead. 
Yet  while  I  pillowed  there  my  head, 
The  angels  made  a  ladder  of  my  dreams, 
Which  upwards  to  celestial  mountains  led. 
And  when  I  woke,  beneath  the  morning's  beams, 
Around  my  resting-place  fresh  manna  lay  ; 
And  praising  God,  I  went  upon  my  way, 
For  I  was  fed. 

I  asked  for  strength ;  for  with  the  noontide  heat 
I  fainted,  while  the  reapers,  singing  sweet, 
Went  forward  with  ripe  sheaves  I  could  not  bear. 
Then  came  the  Master  with  His  blood-stained  feet, 
And  lifted  me  with  sympathetic  care. 
Then  on  His  arm  I  leaned  till  all  was  done  ; 
And  I  stood  with  the  rest  at  set  of  sun, 
My  task  complete. 

God  answers  prayer;  sometimes,  when  hearts  are 

weak, 

He  gives  the  very  gifts  believers  seek. 
But  often  faith  must  learn  a  deeper  rest, 
And  trust  God's  silence  when  He  does  not  speak ; 
For  He,  whose  name  is  love,  will  send  the  best. 
Stars  may  burn  out,  nor  mountain  walls  endure  ? 
But  God  is  true,  His  promises  are  sure 
To  those  who  seek. 

MYRA  GOODWIN   PLANZ. 


[77] 


(Eigljteentl) 

Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life  where- 
unto  thou  art  also  called.  —  I  Timothy  6:12. 

EVEN  were  the  immortality  of  the  soul  a  fiction, 
I  would  be  sorry  not  to  believe  it.  I  con- 
fess I  am  not  so  humble  as  the  atheists.  I  do  not 
follow  their  thoughts ;  but  for  myself  would  not 
barter  the  idea  of  my  immortality  for  the  happiness 
of  to-day,  for  I  delight  to  deem  myself  immortal 
as  God  himself.  MONTESQUIEU. 

Where  our  Captain  bids  us  go 
Tis  not  ours  to  murmur  "No." 

He  that  gives  the  sword  and  shield, 

Chooses  too  the  battle-field 
Where  we  are  to  fight  the  foe.         ANONYMOUS. 

Who  art  thou  that  complaineth  of  thy  life  of  toil  ? 
Complain  not !  Look  up,  my  wearied  brother ;  see 
thy  fellow-workmen  there,  in  God's  eternity ;  sur- 
viving there,  they  alone  surviving ;  sacred  band  of 
the  immortals,  celestial  body-guard  of  the  empire 
of  mankind.  To  thee  heaven,  though  severe,  is 
not  unkind  ;  heaven  is  kind,  —  as  a  noble  mother ; 
as  that  Spartan  mother,  saying,  while  she  gave  her 
son  his  shield,  "With  it,  my  son,  or  upon  it."  Thou 
too  shalt  return  home  in  honor;  doubt  it  not,— 
if  in  the  battle  thou  keep  thy  shield  ! 

Thou,  in  the  Eternities  and  deepest  death-king- 
doms art  not  an  alien ;  thou  art  everywhere  a  deni- 
zen. Complain  not.  CARLYLE. 


jjiineteentl) 

Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children  so  the  Lord pitieth  them 
that  fear  him.  For  he  knoweth  our  frame  ;  he  remembereth 
that  we  are  dust.  —  Psalm  103 : 13,  14. 

FATHER  !     How  much  of  strength  and  conso- 
lation centres  in  that  word  !     In  this  single 
view  of  God  how  much  there  is  to  bind  us  to  Him 
with  fervent  and  ever-growing  love  ! 

He  knows  the  bitter,  weary  way, 
The  needless  striving  by  the  way, 
The  souls  that  weep,  the  souls  that  pray  — 
He  knows  ! 

He  knows  how  hard  the  fight  hath  been, 
The  cloud  that  came  our  lives  between, 
The  wounds  the  world  hath  never  seen, 
He  knows  ! 

He  knows  when  faint  and  worn  we  sink, 
How  deep  the  pain,  how  near  the  brink 
Of  dark  despair  we  pause  and  shrink ; 
He  knows  ! 

He  knows :  O  heart  take  up  thy  cross, 
And  know  earth's  treasures  are  but  dross. 
And  He  will  prove  as  gain  our  loss  ! 
He  knows  ! 

MARIAN   LONGFELLOW. 

The  merciful  compassion  of  our  heavenly  Father 
broods  over  us,  as  the  blue  sky  bends  over  the  earth. 
The  great  Father  heart  is  everywhere. 

[79] 


/  thank  my  God,  ma&ing-  mention  of  thee  always  in  my 
prayers,  hearing  of  thy  love  and  faith.  — Philippians  4:5. 
Walk  -worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are  called.  — 
Ephesians  4:1. 

Let  such  as  love  thy  salvation  say  continually,  The  Lord  be 
magnified.  —  Psalm  50 :  1 6. 

LET  us  hold  fast  the  threefold  cord  that  cannot 
be  broken,  the  friend  wishing,  the  friend  re- 
ceiving, and  the  mighty  Friend  loving  to  give  as 
much  as  is  needed. 

ANDREW  MURRAY. 


"  Love  makes  drudgery  divine."  Love  cannot 
help  itself,  it  outruns  and  leaves  law  far  behind. 
The  question  is  not  what  must  I  do,  but  what  may 
I  do?  Love  will  stop  at  nothing.  It  takes  up  its 
cross  and  travels  after  its  object  over  every  hill  and 
mountain  of  difficulty.  Love  desires  all  to  partake 
of  its  bliss ;  it  runs  on  with  unceasing  cry  "  What 
shall  I  render  for  such  benefits?" 

POWERSCOURT. 


Without  or  star  or  angel  for  their  guide, 
Who  worship  God  shall  find  Him.    Humble  love 
And  not  proud  reason  keeps  the  door  of  heaven. 
Love  finds  admission  when  proud  science  fails. 

YOUNG. 


[8oJ 


Blessed  is  the  man  that  maketh  the  Lord  his  trust.  —  Psalm 
11:4. 

GO  forth  to  meet  the  solemnities  and  to  conquer 
the  trials  of  existence,  believing  in  a  Shep- 
herd of  your  souls.  Then  faith  in  Him  will  support 
you  in  duty,  and  duty  firmly  done  will  strengthen 
faith ;  till  at  last  your  faith  will  raise  the  song  of 
conquest,  and  in  its  retrospect  of  the  life  which  has 
ended,  and  its  forward  glance  upon  the  life  to  come, 
take  up  the  poetic  inspiration  of  the  Hebrew  King. 

STOPFORD  A.  BROOKE. 

Upon  God's  providence  I  lean, 

As  lean  in  faith  I  must ; 
The  lesson  of  my  life  hath  been, 

A  heart  of  grateful  trust. 
No  burden  yet  was  on  me  laid 

Of  trouble  or  of  care, 
But  He  my  trembling  step  hath  stayed 

And  given  me  strength  to  bear. 

I  know  not  what  beyond  may  lie, 

But  look  in  humble  faith, 
Into  a  larger  life  to  die 

And  find  new  birth  in  death. 
And  so  my  onward  course  I  fare 

With  happy  heart  and  calm, 
And  mingle  with  my  daily  care 

The  music  of  my  psalm. 

FREDERICK   L.    HOSMER. 
[81] 


Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.  —  S.  Matthew 
6:34. 

HE  that  hath  many  causes  of  joy,  and  so  great, 
is  very  much  in  love  with  sorrow  and  peevish- 
ness, who  loses  all  these  pleasures,  and  chooses  to  sit 
down  upon  his  little  handful  of  thorns. 

JEREMY  TAYLOR. 

We  know  not  what  the  path  may  be 

As  yet  by  us  untrod ; 
But  we  can  trust  our  all  to  Thee, 

Our  Father  and  our  God. 

WILLIAM  J.  IRONS. 

O  my  friend,  look  not  out  at  what  stands  in 
the  way ;  what  if  it  looks  dreadful  as  a  lion,  is  not 
the  Lord  stronger  than  the  beasts  of  prey?  But 
look  in  where  the  law  of  life  is  written,  and  the  will 
of  the  Lord  revealed,  that  thou  mayest  know  what 
is  the  Lord's  will  concerning  thee. 

I.  PENNINGTON. 

Griefs   Clearing  Sky. 
Who  knows  whither  the  clouds  have  fled  ? 

In  the  unscarred  heaven  they  leave  no  wake; 
And  the  eyes  forget  the  tears  they  have  shed, 
The  heart  forgets  its  sorrow  and  ache. 

LOWELL. 

[82] 


In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall  direct  thy 

paths.  —  Proverbs  3  :  6. 

He  leadeth  me.  —  Psalm  23 :  2. 

WE  are  like  to  Him  with  whom  there  is  no 
past  or  future,  with  whom  a  day.  is  as  a 
thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day, 
when  we  do  our  work  in  the  great  present,  leaving 
both  past  and  future  to  Him  to  whom  they  are 
ever  present,  and  fearing  nothing  because  He  is 
our  future  as  He  is  our  past,  as  much  as,  and 
far  more  than  we  can  feel  Him  to  be  in  our  pres- 
ent. Partakers  thus  of  the  divine  nature,  resting 
in  that  perfect  All-in-Ail  in  whom  our  nature  is 
eternal  too,  we  walk  without  fear,  full  of  hope  and 
courage  and  strength  to  do  His  will,  waiting  to  do 
the  endless  good  which  He  is  always  giving  as  fast 
as  He  can  get  us  able  to  take  it  in. 

GEORGE  MACDONALD. 

"In  pastures  green  ?  "    Not  always  ;  sometimes  He 
Who  knoweth  best,  in  kindness  leadeth  me 
In  weary  ways,  where  heavy  shadows  be. 

So,  whether  on  the  hilltops  high  and  fair 
I  dwell,  or  in  the  sunless  valleys,  where 

The  shadows  lie,  what  matter  ?     He  is  there. 

HENRY  A.  BARRY. 

Keep  to  the  present  little  inch  that  is  before 
you,  and  accomplish  that  in  the  little  moment  that 
belongs  to  it.  M.  A.  KELLY. 

[83] 


Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son 
•whom  he  receiveth.  —  Hebrews  1 2 :  6. 

HE  took  them  from  me,  one  by  one, 
The  things  I  set  my  heart  upon ; 
They  looked  so  harmless,  fair  and  blest, 
Would  they  have  hurt  me  ?     God  knows  best ; 
He  loves  me  so,  He  would  not  wrest 
Them  from  me  if  it  were  not  best. 

I  will  not  say  I  did  not  weep 
As  doth  a  child  that  wants  to  keep 
The  pleasant  things  in  hurtful  play 
His  wiser  parent  takes  away ; 
But  in  this  comfort  I  will  rest : 
He  who  hath  taken  knoweth  best. 

F.  H.  MAER. 

Let  Christ's  love  flow  into  our  souls  and  fill  them. 
Then  struggles  and  sacrifices  will  lose  their  bitter- 
ness, even  if  they  must  keep  some  of  their  pain. 
God's  work  begun  within  is  a  pledge  of  His  work 
finished.  Until  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  then 
let  us  look  up,  rejoice  and  hope  and  love. 

God  chastens  thee  because  He  loves  thee  !  .  .  . 
He  loved  thee  into  sorrow,  and  He  will  love  thee 
through  it.  Love  is  the  reason  of  all  He  does. 

MACDUFF. 

God's  love  with  keen  flame  purges  like  the  light- 
ning flash. 

[84] 


Thou  understandest  my  thought  afar  off.  —  Psalm  139 :  2. 

WISELY  the  great  Plato  wrote,  "  Thinking  is 
the  soul  talking  with  itself."  The  visible 
part  of  man  dies  and  is  forgotten,  but  his  soul,  his 
thought,  is  immortal.  As  thought  is  the  breath  of 
men's  spirit,  so  it  is  the  character  of  his  thought 
which  determines  the  character  of  his  immortality. 
Whether  the  magnetism  of  his  influence  shall  stimu- 
late other  men  to  worthy  and  lofty  purposes,  or 
whether  it  shall  leave  upon  succeeding  generations 
such  black  stains  of  crime  as  no  angel  tears  can 
wash  away,  shall  be  determined  by  the  character 
and  power  of  a  thought.  There  are  thoughts  which 
are  plague-spots,  thoughts  which  are  prophecies, 
thoughts  which  are  convictions,  thoughts  which  are 
pledges  and  prayers,  thoughts  which  are  wounds 
in  the  world's  deep  heart.  Battle  and  bloodshed, 
cruelty  and  wrong,  murder  and  oppression,  have  all 
sprung  and  grown  from  the  first  murderous  thought 
of  Cain.  There  are  thoughts  which  are  symbols. 
The  Taj  Mahal,  stainless  in  its  matchless  beauty  and 
purity,  sprang,  a  white  flower  of  sorrow,  from  the 
grave  where  were  buried  together  the  dead  and  the 
living  heart,  and  so  shall  forever  symbolize  the  love 
of  the  Indian  King  whose  loyal  soul  clung  to  one 
woman  living  and  mourned  her  dead.  Thought  is 
mysteriously  transformed  into  beliefs ;  into  laws ; 
into  creeds.  Under  every  thought  lies  a  feeling 
too  deep  for  perfect  expression. 

[85] 


soap  ' 

In  the  night-time  his  song  shall  be  with  me.  —  Psalm  42 :  8. 
He  shall  give  thee  songs  in  the  night.  — Job  35  :  10. 

OH  !  still  those  precious  words  remain, 
The  strains  of  trust  and  love 
Which  beat  the  air,  like  spirit-wings 

And  lift  the  heart  above. 
Those  songs  on  which  the  saints  of  old 

Scaled  heaven's  loftiest  height, 
And  'cross  the  blue  horizon's  rim 
Secured  their  crowns  of  light. 

I  bind  the  memory  of  those  songs 

Close  to  my  reverent  heart, 
They  turn  temptation's  face  away 

And  bid  my  griefs  depart ; 
They  soothe  me,  soft  as  spirit-hands 

That  fan  the  fainting  soul, 
And  all  invisibly  they  lift 

My  life  to  heaven's  goal. 

MARTHA  CAPPS  OLIVER. 

If  there  be  memory  in  the  world  to  come, 

If  thought  recur  to  some  things  silenced  here, 
Then  shall  the  deep  heart  be  no  longer  dumb, 

But  find  expression  in  that  happier  sphere  ; 
It  shall  not  be  denied  the  utmost  sum 

Of  love  to  speak  without  or  fault  or  fear, 
But  utter  to  the  harp,  with  changes  sweet, 

Words  that,  forbidden  still,  then  heaven  were 
incomplete.  JEAN  INGELOW. 

[86] 


Lave  suffer eth  long  and  is  kind.  —  I  Corinthians  13:4. 

THE  love  of  Jesus  reproduces  itself  in  the  lives 
of  His  working  and  suffering  children.  In 
some  shape  they  are  ever  giving  themselves  to  God 
and  for  their  fellow-men.  True  love  is  no  thin  dis- 
embodied sentiment.  Love  asserts  its  presence  in 
a  practical,  visible  way,  when  once  it  really  lives. 

CANON  LIDDON. 


Let  your  friends  have  your  sympathy  and  your 
help  .  .  .  and  let  simplicity,  love,  and  humility  be 
your  great  aim  —  just  to  do  God's  work  without  an 
atom  of  self-love  in  it.  Keep  this  aim  ever  true 
and  pure  and  all  will  come  out  right,  even  though 
many  a  weary  step  has  to  be  trod  in  the  footsteps 

of  JeSUS.  H.  MONSELL. 

Who  saith,  "  I  loved  once  "  ? 
Not  angels,  whose  clear  eyes  love,  foresee, 

Love  through  eternity, 

Who,  by  "  to  love,"  do  apprehend  "  to  be  "  ; 
Not  God,  called  love,  His  noble  crown-name,  cast- 
ing 

A  light  too  broad  for  blasting  ! 
The  great  God,  changing  not  from  everlasting, 

Saith  not,  "  I  loved  once." 

E.  B.  BROWNING. 

[87] 


Thou  shall  forget  thy  misery,  and  remember  it  as  waters  that 
pass  away.  —  Job  1 1 :  1 6. 

I  LOOK  around  me  and  think  how  many  there 
are  in  the  same  trouble  as  myself,  perhaps 
much  greater,  and  they  have  no  Father  to  go  to. 
I  look  behind  me  and  think  of  all  the  way  I  have 
been  led,  and  the  mercy  upon  mercy  which  I  have 
experienced.  I  look  before  and  above  me  and 
think  of  my  heaven  at  the  door.  Jesus  my  fore- 
runner there,  my  God  there,  where,  through  won- 
drous grace,  I  shall  soon  be  myself. 

BISHOP  BULL. 

My  mind  was  full  of  troubles  wild, 

And  all  my  heart  was  filled  with  sorrow, 

When,  by  my  side,  a  little  child 

Pointed  toward  the  sky  and  smiled, 

And  said,  "  The  sun  will  shine  to-morrow." 

I  looked,  and  all  my  pain  had  flown ; 

Would  He,  who  e'en  takes  thought  of  sparrows, 
Give  me,  instead  of  bread,  a  stone? 
Or  never  heed  my  weary  moan  ? 

Or  pierce  my  soul  with  many  arrows? 

O  weary  souls  !  however  black 

Your  lives  may  be,  this  comfort  borrow ; 
Look  ever  forward,  look  not  back, 
But  keep  upon  the  homeward  track, 

And  look  for  sunshine  on  the  morrow. 

EDITH   HELENA   COOKE. 
[88] 


I  will  lift  ttp  my  eyes  unto  the  hills  from  whence  cometh  my 
strength.  —  Psalm  l:2l. 

AND  now,  O  Lord,  our  God,  we  desire  to  be 
caught  up  out  of  the  fever  and  turbulence  of 
the  times  in  which  we  dwell.  We  desire  to  find 
Thee  a  very  present  help  in  time  of  trouble.  Lord, 
Thou  hast  promised  to  make  Thyself  a  refuge. 
Thou  art  a  mountain  in  a  weary  land.  We  remem- 
ber in  days  gone  by,  when  we  have  gone  up  out  of 
the  city  and  troubled  vale  unto  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains, and  found,  while  it  was  heated  and  full  of 
summer  burnings  below,  that  there  it  was  cool  and 
transparent,  that  there  no  sound  was  heard,  and 
everything  dwelt  in  eternal  calm  and  purity.  Be 
pleased,  O  Lord,  to  grant,  since  Thou  art  lifted  far 
above  toil  and  heat  and  turbulence,  that  we  may  be 
able  to  find  Thee,  and  to  refresh  ourselves  in  Thy 
presence.  BEECHER. 


"  Unto  the  Hills." 

O  restless  heart,  so  full  of  cares, 

Yet  longing  so  for  better  things, 

Impatient  even  in  thy  prayers, 

And  vexed  at  trifling  happenings, 

Receive  the  strength  that  calms  and  stills, 

Lift  up  thine  eyes  "unto  the  hills." 

MARY  THOMPSON. 

[89] 


Whoso  is  wise,  will  ponder  these  things.  —  Psalm  107  :  43. 


G 


OOD  will,  like  a  good  name,  is  got  by  many 
actions  and  lost  by  one.  JEFFREY. 

Every  event  of  life  points,  if  it  does  not  carry  us, 
on  to  the  cross.  JONATHAN  EDWARDS. 

Show  me  the  man  you  honor;  I  know  by  that 
symptom  better  than  by  any  other,  what  kind  of  a 
man  you  are  yourself;  for  you  show  me  what  your 
ideal  of  manhood  is,  and  what  kind  of  a  man  you 
long  to  be.  CARLYLE. 

Make  each  day  a  critic  on  the  last. .          POPE. 

Be  noble  ;  and  the  nobleness  that  lies 
In  other  hearts,  sleeping,  but  never  dead, 
Will  rise  in  majesty  to  meet  thine  own. 

LOWELL. 

Taking  the  first  step  with  the  good  thought,  the 
second  with  the  good  word,  and  the  third  with  the 
good  deed,  I  entered  Paradise.  ZOROASTER. 

In  the  midst  of  much  failure  have  the  heart  to 
begin  again.  Fear  not  so  long  as  you  have  Christ 
with  you  as  your  friend  and  defender. 

JOHN    HALL. 

Seeing  much,  suffering  much,  and  endeavoring 
much  are  the  pillars  of  learning.  D'ISRAELI. 

[90] 


Except  ye  repent  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish. —  S.  Luke  13 :  3. 

OF  all  acts,  is  not,  for  man,  repentance  the 
most  divine?  The  deadliest  sin  were  the 
consciousness  of  no  sin.  The  heart  so  conscious 
is  divorced  from  sincerity,  humility,  and  fact. 
Hence  the  experience  of  David  is  the  truest  em- 
blem of  man's  moral  progress  and  warfare  ever 
written.  CARLYLE. 

Coming  to  Jesus  is  the  desire  of  the  heart  after 
Him.  It  is  to  feel  our  sin  and  misery,  and  to  believe 
that  He  is  willing  and  able  to  pardon,  comfort, 
and  keep  us ;  to  ask  Him  to  help  us,  and  to  trust 
Him  as  in  a  friend.  To  have  the  same  feelings  and 
desires  as  if  He  were  visibly  present,  and  we  came 
and  implored  Him  to  bless  us,  is  to  come  to  Him, 
though  we  do  not  see  His  face  nor  hear  His  voice. 
The  penitent's  desire  for  pardon,  his  prayer,  "  Lord, 
save  me  ;  I  perish  "  —  this  is  coming  to  Him. 

NEWMAN   HALL. 

A  true  repentance  shuns  the  evil  itself 

More  than  the  external  suffering  or  the  shame. 

SHAKSPEARE. 

Pass  me  not,  O  God,  my  Father, 
Sinful  though  my  heart  may  be ; 

Thou  mightst  leave  me,  but  the  rather 
Let  Thy  mercy  rest  on  me, 
Even  me. 

MRS.  ELIZABETH  CODNER. 
[91] 


9 

jfourtt) 


ZVa/  //4y  bread  to  the  hungry.  —  Isaiah  58  :  7. 

IF  there  be  a  pleasure  on  earth  which  angels 
cannot  enjoy,  and  which  they  might  almost 
envy  a  man  the  possession  of,  it  is  the  power 
of  relieving  distress  ;  if  there  be  a  pain  which  devils 
might  pity  a  man  for  enduring,  it  is  the  death-bed 
reflection  that  we  have  possessed  the  power  of 
doing  good,  but  that  we  have  abused  and  perverted 
it  to  purposes  of  ill.  COLTON. 


In  all  the  human  gifts  and  passions,  though  they 
advance  nature,  yet  they  are  subject  to  excess ; 
but  charity  alone  admits  no  excess.  For  so  we  see, 
by  aspiring  to  be  like  God  in  power,  the  angels 
transgressed  and  fell;  but  by  aspiring  to  be  like 
God  in  goodness  or  love,  neither  man  nor  angel 
ever  did  or  shall  transgress.  For  unto  the  imita- 
tion we  are  called.  BACON. 


Beneficence  is  a  duty.  He  who  frequently  prac- 
tises it,  and  sees  his  benevolent  intentions  realized, 
at  length  comes  really  to  love  him  to  whom  he  has 
done  good.  KANT. 

[92] 


blG55*m6s  re^h  on 


Evening  and  morning  and  at  noon,  will  I  cry  and  pray 
aloud :  and  he  shall  hear  my  •voice.  —  Psalm  15  :  17. 

MOST  holy  and  eternal  God,  Lord  and  Sover- 
eign of  all  the  creatures,  I  humbly  present 
to  Thy  divine  majesty  myself,  my  soul  and  body, 
my  thoughts  and  my  words,  my  actions  and  inten- 
tions, my  passions  and  my  sufferings,  to  be  dis- 
posed by  Thee  to  Thy  glory,  to  be  blessed  by  Thy 
providence,  to  be  guided  by  Thy  counsel,  to  be 
sanctified  by  Thy  Spirit,  and  afterwards  that  my 
soul  and  body  may  be  received  into  glory :  for 
nothing  can  perish  which  is  under  Thy  custody; 
and  the  enemy  of  souls  cannot  devour  what  is  Thy 
portion,  nor  take  it  out  of  Thy  hand.  This  day, 
O  Lord,  and  all  the  days  of  my  life  I  dedicate  to 
Thy  honor,  and  the  actions  of  my  calling  to  the 
uses  of  grace,  and  the  religion  of  all  my  days  to  be 
united  to  the  merits  and  intercession  of  my  holy 
Saviour  Jesus,  that  in  Him  and  for  Him  I  may  be 
pardoned  and  accepted.  Amen. 

JEREMY    TAYLOR. 

We  kneel  how  weak,  we  rise  how  full  of  power. 
\Yhy  therefore  should  we  do  ourselves  this  wrong, 
Or  others  —  that  we  are  not  always  strong, 
That  we  ever  are  overborne  with  care, 
That  we  should  ever  weak  or  heartless  be, 
Anxious  or  troubled,  when  with  us  in  prayer, 
And  joy  and  strength  and  courage  are  with  Thee  ? 

R.  C.  TRENCH. 

[93] 


Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  Jeet,  and  a  light  unto  my  path.  — 
Psalm  119:  105. 

ON  land  and  ocean  men  have  rejoiced  at  the 
shining  of  a  guiding  star.  The  thankful  mar- 
iner steers  over  the  pathless  sea  by  one  steadfast 
star  that  befriends  him  out  of  the  North.  The 
caravan  crawling  by  night  across  the  trackless 
desert  makes  the  tinkling  of  the  camel  bells  fol- 
low the  twinkling  of  the  star  that  points  the  way. 
In  years  now  forever  happily  gone,  the  bondman 
fleeing  through  the  forests,  wading  swamps  and 
swimming  streams  to  elude  the  bloodhound's  scent 
and  escape  the  overseer's  lash,  hiding  by  day,  and 
hurrying  by  night,  rejoiced  to  see  a  kindly  star  that 
burned  in  the  northern  sky  like  a  light  in  Liberty's 
window,  signalling  the  way  to  friendly  soil,  marr- 
hood,  and  the  powerful  shelter  of  the  flag  of  our 
Union  flying  over  the  border.  As  surely  in  spiritual 
realms  as  on  sea  and  land  a  guiding  light  shines 
from  above.  In  the  sky  of  every  human  soul  is 
some  starry  revelation  which,  if  followed,  will  lead 
to  the  manifold  liberty  with  which  Christ  makes 
men  free. 

When  we  cannot  see  our  way, 
Let  us  trust  and  still  obey  ; 
He  who  bids  us  forward  go, 
Cannot  fail  the  way  to  show. 

[94] 


jfourtl) 


Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of 
things  not  seen.  —  Hebrews  1  1  :  I. 

AT  present  I  only  feel  that  there  is  a  chamber 
whose  name  is  Peace,  and  which  opens 
toward  the  sun-rising.  ...  I  know  that  the  little 
film  which  covers  the  pupil  of  my  eye  is  the 
only  wall  between  her  world  and  mine,  but  that 
hair-breadth  is  as  effectual  as  the  space  between 
us  and  the  sun.  I  cannot  see  her,  I  cannot  feel 
when  I  come  home  that  she  comes  to  the  door  to 
welcome  me  as  she  always  did.  I  can  only  hope 
that  when  I  go  through  the  last  door  that  opens  for 
all  of  us  I  may  hear  her  coming  step  upon  the 
other  side.  LOWELL. 

Be  patient  and  be  wise  !    The  eyes  of  Death 

Look  on  us  with  a  smile  :  her  soft  caress 
That  stills  the  anguish  and  that  stops  the  breath, 

Is  Nature's  ordination,  meant  to  bless 
Our  mortal  woes  with  peaceful  nothingness. 

Be  not  afraid  !     The  Power,  that  made  the  light 
In  your  kind  eyes,  and  set  the  stars  on  high, 

And  gave  us  love,  meant  not  that  all  should  die 
Like  a  brief  day-dream  quenched  in  sudden  night. 

Think  that  to  die  is  but  to  fall  asleep 
And  wake  refreshed  when  the  new  morning  breaks, 

And  golden  day  her  rosy  vigor  takes 
From  winds  that  fan  Eternity's  white  height 

And  the  white  crests  of  God's  perpetual  deep. 

[95]  WILLIAM    WINTER. 


jftftl) 

I  flee  unto  thee  to  hide  me.  —  Psalm  143  :  9. 

OUR  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  Our  present 
life  in  Him  may  be  compared  to  that  of  the 
seed,  a  hidden  life  contending  underground,  against 
cold  and  darkness  and  obstructions,  yet  bearing 
within  its  breast  the  indestructible  germ  of  vitality. 
Death  lifts  the  soul  into  sunshine  for  which  a 
hidden,  invisible  work  in  the  life  of  the  flower  has 
prepared  it. 

Then  bless  thy  sacred  growth,  nor  catch 
At  pain;  but  thrive  unseen  and  dumb ; 

Keep  clean,  bear  fruit,  earn  life  and  watch, 
Till  the  white-winged  reapers  come. 

HENRY  VAUGHAN. 

I  could  not  ask  for  you  a  greater  gift  than  that  in 
the  future,  when  your  autumn  time  of  life  shall 
come,  you  may  have  the  spring-time  in  your  heart. 
There  is  only  one  life  where  the  new  never  becomes 
old,  where  the  love  is  always  kept  fresh,  and  is 
always  a  first  love  with  increasing  freshness ;  and 
that  is  having  the  One  who  says  "  I  am  the  life  !  " 

MARGARET   BOTTOME. 

Whate'er  events  betide, 

Thy  will  they  all  perform  ; 
Safe  in  Thy  heart  my  head  I  hide, 

Nor  fear  the  coming  storm. 

H.  F.  LYTE. 

[96] 


In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions :  if  it  were  not  so 
I  would  have  told you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  —  S. 
John  14:  I. 

WHERE  does  it  lie  — that  land  of  rest 
To  which  the  over-wearied  pass? 
Where  are  the  ways  which  they  have  pressed, 

Or  the  soft  meadows  green  with  grass, 
Through  which  they  go  into  the  shade 
Of  the  home-place  the  Lord  has  made? 

So  close  the  door  shuts  after  them, 

Nor  sight  nor  sound  can  reach  us  here ; 

Faintly  we  speak  the  requiem, 

And  still  it  seems  that  they  are  near. 

We  cannot  tell ;  we  only  know 

That  Christ  receives  them  where  they  go. 

But  that  is  surely  heaven  enough ; 

Where  Jesus  is,  their  home  shall  be. 
The  storms  have  ceased  which  once  were  rough, 

And  gently,  o'er  a  tranquil  sea, 
Knowing  no  care  because  He  cared, 
They  reached  the  home  He  has  prepared. 

Love  made  it  ready.     Love  is  wise. 

Oh,  happy  they  who,  safe  at  home, 
Have  had  the  tears  wiped  from  their  eyes, 

Assured  that  no  more  grief  will  come  ; 
For  Christ  has  borne  away  their  cares, 
And  He  has  answered  all  their  prayers. 

MARIANNE    FARNINGHAM. 
[97] 


Slpril 


Behold  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth!  —  S.  James 
3=5- 

SHE  told  a  lie,  a  little  lie  — 
It  was  go  small  and  white, 
She  said,  "  It  cannot  help  but  die 

Before  another  night." 
And  then  she  laughed  to  see  it  go, 
And  thought  it  was  as  white  as  snow. 

But  oh,  the  lie  !     It  larger  grew, 

Nor  paused  by  night  or  day, 
And  many  watched  it  as  it  flew, 

And  if  it  made  delay, 
Like  something  that  was  near  to  death, 
They  blew  it  onward  with  their  breath. 

And  on  its  track  the  mildew  fell, 
And  there  was  grief  and  shame, 

And  many  a  spotless  lily-bell 
Was  shrivelled  as  with  flame. 

The  wings  that  were  so  small  and  white 

Were  large,  and  strong,  and  black  as  night. 

One  day  a  woman  stood  aghast, 

And  trembled  in  her  place, 
For  something  flying  far  and  fast 

Had  smote  her  in  the  face  — 
Something  that  cried  in  thunder-tone, 
I  come  !     I  come  !     Take  back  your  own  ! 

ELLEN  M.  H.  GATES. 
[98J 


In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  -withhold  not 
thy  hand.  —  Ecclesiastes  1 1 :  6. 

SOW  with  a  generous  hand  ; 
Pause  not  for  toil  or  pain ; 
Weary  not  through  the  heat  of  summer ; 

Weary  not  through  the  cold  spring  rain  ; 
But  wait  till  the  autumn  comes 

For  the  sheaves  of  golden  grain. 
Sow,  and  look  onward,  upward, 

Where  the  starry  light  appears  — 
Where,  in  spite  of  the  coward's  doubting, 

Or  your  own  heart's  trembling  fears, 
You  shall  reap  in  joy  the  harvest 

You  have  sown  to-day  in  tears. 

ADELAIDE  A.  PROCTER. 

Once  in  a  while  I  think  of  my  little  orange  tree 
I  had  a  few  winters  ago.  It  was  very  small,  in  a 
small  pot,  but  it  had  so  many  oranges  on  it  I  won- 
dered whether  they  would  grow  or  shrink  up  and 
fall  from  the  tree.  They  didn't  fall,  and  they 
didn't  seem  to  grow,  but  they  lived.  ...  I  came 
to  love  my  little  orange  tree.  One  day  when  I 
stood  by  admiring  it,  I  fancied  it  said,  "  O,  I  am 
nothing  now,  but  you  should  see  me  in  my  home 
in  California,  then  you  would  see  an  orange  tree." 
It  never  reached  there.  But  ...  we  shall  some 
day  be  where  our  environment  will  be  perfectly 
suited  to  our  nature  and  we  shall  come  to  our  best. 

MARGARET    BOTTOME. 
[99] 


Lo  I  am  with  you  ahvay,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  — 
S.  Matthew  38 :  20. 

O  CHARM  to  drive  away  the  power  of  dark- 
ness, "  The  Father  is  with  me  !  "  O  solace 
to  the  poor  wounded  spirit,  "The  Father  is  with 
me  ! "  O  light  for  the  desolate  and  broken  heart, 
whatever  is  taken  away,  "  The  Father  is  with  me  !  " 
Have  you  grasped  this  precious  revelation?  You 
who  live  in  happy  homes  ;  you  whose  lives  are  easy 
and  free  from  want ;  you  whose  wishes  are  fulfilled, 
and  upon  whom  life  smiles  brightly  —  have  you 
taken  to  heart  this  tnith,  "My  Father  is  with  me  "? 
Learn  it  now.  Dwell  on  it  now.  Let  it  give  a 
deeper  meaning  to  your  prosperous  life,  a  deeper 
earnestness  to  your  way  of  feeling  and  acting. 
"The  Father  is  with  me  wherever  I  am."  And 
then,  when  the  storms  begin  to  blow,  and  the  great 
billows  break  upon  you,  and  in  the  rush  of  salt 
waves  you  taste  at  last  the  bitterness  of  suffering, 
then  you  will  know  as  a  comfort  which  nothing  can 
take  from  you  :  "  The  Father  is  with  me." 

CANON  WYNNE. 


My  bark  is  wafted  to  the  strand 

By  breath  divine ; 
And  on  the  helm  there  rests  a  hand 

Other  than  mine. 

[100] 


T 


He  that  receivelh  seed  into  the  good  ground  is  he  that  heareth 
the  word,  and  understandeth  it ;  ivhich  also  beareth  fruit, 
and  bringeth  forth,  some  an  hundred  fold,  some  sixty,  some 
thirty.  — S.  Matthew  13:  13. 

^ HOUGH  to-day  may  not  fulfil 
All  thy  hopes,  have  patience  still. 

P.  GERHARDT. 

He  does  not  need  to  transplant  us  into  a  different 
field,  but  right  where  we  are,  with  just  the  circum- 
stances that  surround  us,  He  makes  His  sun  to  shine 
and  His  dew  to  fall  upon  us,  and  transforms  the  very 
things  that  were  before  our  greatest  hindrances,  into 
the  chiefest  and  most  blessed  means  of  our  growth. 
.  .  .  No  difficulties  in  your  case  can  baffle  Him. 
No  dwarfing  of  your  growth  in  years  that  are  past, 
no  apparent  dryness  of  your  inward  springs  of  life, 
no  crookedness  or  deformity  in  any  of  your  past 
development,  can  in  the  least  mar  the  perfect  work 
that  He  will  accomplish,  if  you  will  only  put  your- 
selves absolutely  into  His  hands,  and  let  Him  have 
His  own  way  with  you.  H.  w.  s. 

It  is  the  spring  !  prepare  the  seeds 

And  tender  plants  new  bloom  to  show, 
Turn  the  rich  earth,  pull  up  the  weeds, 

And  clear  each  cumbered  garden  row. 
Waste  not  the  wealth  of  April  showers, 

For  sunshine  which  our  need  befriends, 
Think  !  on  these  evanescent  hours 

The  harvest  of  the  year  depends. 

[101]        CAROLINE   NORTON. 


The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually.  —  Isaiah  63 :  2. 

THE  light  of  God's  wisdom  can  make  a  path 
for  us  even  across  the  stormy  sea  of  life. 
His  guidance  shows  a  track  where  we  can  pilot  our 
little  human  craft  safely.     His  love  will  bring  us 
into  port  when  the  voyage  is  over. 

Light  of  life  so  sweetly  streaming, 
Down  upon  life's  troubled  sea, 

With  the  love  of  Jesus  beaming, 
Shine,  shine  on  me. 

Light  of  life  that  knows  no  fading 
From  all  changes  Thou  art  free ; 

Holy  light  that  knows  no  shading 
Shine,  shine  on  me. 

Light  of  life,  in  days  of  gladness 
To  Thy  radiance  I  would  flee  ; 

Be  my  strength  in  days  of  sadness, 
Shine,  shine  on  me.  BONAR. 

May  none  of  us  founder  before  we  reach  the  har- 
bor, but  may  every  one  of  us  have  that  pilot  in  the 
ship,  that  guidance,  that  living  Christ,  that  we  shall 
be  sure,  through  calm  and  conflict,  of  reaching  the 
land  which  He  appoints  ;  and  may  it  be  Immanuel's 
land  —  that  place  of  rest  where  no  storms  are,  and 
where  no  tears  wet  the  eye.  BEECHER. 

[102] 


Be  of  good  courage.  —  Numbers  13 :  20. 

AT  the  bloody  battle  of  Marengo  the  French 
lines  fell  back  in  a  complete  rout,  and  the 
officers  rushed  up  to  their  commander,  crying : 
"The  battle  is  lost !  "  "Yes,"  exclaimed  the  gen- 
eral, "  one  battle  is  lost,  but  there  is  time  to  win 
another."  Inspired  by  his  faith  and  courage,  the 
officers  hurried  back,  turned  the  head  of  the  re- 
treating column,  and  when  in  a  few  hours  the  last 
gun  was  fired,  the  French  camped  on  the  field  of 
battle.  Marengo  had  been  won. 

So  if  we  are  thinking  of  battles  lost  the  past 
year,  in 'school  or  in  business,  or,  worse  still,  in 
character  —  lost  temper,  lost  patience,  lost  spirit- 
uality or  prayerfulness  —  let  us  remember  that 
there  is  yet  time  to  win  another  battle.  Raise 
the  standard  once  more,  take  fresh  courage,  put 
on  the  whole  armor,  and  God  will  surely  give  us 
the  victory.  w.  H.  POPE. 

If  the  day's  brief  pain  and  passing  care 
Have  seemed  too  much  and  too  hard  to  bear ; 
If  under  its  trivial  press  and  smart 
Thou  hast  failed  in  temper  and  lost  in  heart ; 
If  the  undiscouraged,  journeying  sun, 
As  it  sinks  to  rest  with  its  travail  done, 
Leaves  thee  all  spent  with  trouble  and  sorrow  - 
How  shalt  thou  face  the  harder  to-morrow  ? 

SUSAN   COOLIDGE. 

[103] 


Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon,  —  S.  Matthew  6 :  24. 

IT  is  the  old  choice  which  still  is  presented  to 
every  soul ;  the  old  crisis  which  reappears  in 
every  experience.  Caesar,  or  Christ,  that  is  the  ques- 
tion ;  the  vast,  attractive,  sceptical  world,  with  its 
pleasures  and  ambitions,  and  its  prodigal  promise, 
or  the  meek,  majestic,  and  winning  figure  of  Him 
of  Nazareth? 

The  election  remains  for  each  of  us ;  and  the 
moment  of  the  election,  in  the  shaded  and  solemn 
"  Valley  of  Decision,"  will  be  memorable  in  our 
history,  when  suns  for  us  have  ceased  to  shine  ! 

It  is  not  the  lower  appetites  in  man  which  offer 
the  sharpest  or  stubbornest  resistance  to  the  man- 
dates of  Christ,  though  these  have  their  place,  and 
often  a  large  one,  in  such  opposition. 

The  love  of  ease ;  the  indisposition  to  any  pro- 
tracted and  patient  labor  for  an  ideal  cause ;  the 
eager  passion  for  secular  success,  the  pride  which 
insists  on  determining  its  own  plan  and  path ;  the 
weakened  impression  of  things  supernatural ;  even 
the  intellectual  habit  which  finds  miracles  unscien- 
tific, and  insists  on  applying  its  own  measures  to  the 
whole  career  and  office  of  the  Lord  —  all  these  and 
other  kindred  forces  now  affect  minds  encompassed 
by  the  world,  to  encourage  and  confirm  their  reluc- 
tance toward  Christ. 

[104] 


jfourtmul) 

Your   Father   knoiveth   what  things  ye  have  need  of,  —  S. 
Matthew  6:  8. 

BE  content  to  be  a  child,  and  let  thy  Father 
proportion  out  daily  to  thee  what  light,  what 
power,  what  exercises,  what  straits,  what  fears,  what 
troubles  He  sees  fit  for  thee.          i.  PENNINGTON. 

Song  of  the  Seeds. 

Tis  so  dark,  so  dark,  here  underground  ! 

We  reach  and  we  struggle,  we  know  not  where ; 
We  long  for  something  we  have  not  found, 

We  seek  and  we  find  not,  but  cannot  despair. 

It  is  warm  and  sweet  here  under  the  earth, 
And  so  peaceful  too,  —  why  can  not  we  stay  ? 

What  is  this  change  that  is  named  a  birth  ? 
And  what  is  that  wonderful  thing  called  Day? 

But  a  power  is  on  us,  we  may  not  wait ; 

Within  us  we  feel  it  struggle  and  thrill, 
While  upward  we  reach  to  find  our  fate, 

And  this  ceaseless,  mysterious  want  to  fulfil. 

They  say  that  at  last  we  shall  reach  the  Air — 
Will  breathing  be  freedom,  and  Light  be  Life? 

What  mystic  change  shall  we  meet  with  there 
When  the  blossom  shall  crown  this  mute,  strange 

life?  FLORENCE   SMITH. 

God  goes  before  and  ploughs,  and  we  are  but  the 
seed  dropped  into  His  furrows. 

[105] 


jFiftmttl) 

Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  —  S. 
Matthew  1 2 :  34. 

LET  us  beware  of  losing  our  enthusiasm.     Let 
us  ever  glory  in  something ;   and  strive  to 
retain  our  admiration  for  all  that  would  ennoble, 
and  our  interest  in  all  that  would  enrich  and  beau- 
tify our  life.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

Enthusiasm  is  more  than  anything  else,  a  broad 
consciousness  of  real  relations,  and  a  joyous  activ- 
ity therein.  The  fuller  one's  appreciation  of  his 
proper  relation  to  God's  enterprises,  and  the  more 
lively  his  efforts  therein,  the  larger  the  life  he 
lives.  He  beholds  raying  off  from  himself  a  thou- 
sand-fold chords  of  oneness  with  God's  world  and 
universe.  He  realizes  that  over  every  one  he  can 
send  thrilling  influences  of  power  and  good.  Doing 
it,  he  lives  joyously  in  the  highest  intents  of  his 
existence.  He  humbly  discovers  himself  to  be  a 
fountain  of  beneficence,  achieving  possibilities  of 
blessing  earth  and  gladdening  heaven. 

JOHN  J.  McCABE. 

Beautiful  is  young  enthusiasm  ;  keep  it  to  the 
end,  and  be  more  and  more  correct  in  fixing  on 
the  object  of  it.  It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  be  wrong 
in  that  —  the  source  of  all  our  miseries  and  confu- 
sions whatever.  CARLYLE. 

[106] 


Blessed  are  they  -which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness, for  they  shall  be  filled.  —  S.  Matthew  5  :  6. 

I  WEARY,  for  the  day  is  hard  and  long ; 
I  have  forgot  my  early  morning  song ; 
Footsore  and  faint,  upon  the  ground  I  lie ; 
Out  of  the  dust  I  only  send  a  cry 
For  Thee. 

I  hunger,  for  my  food  is  bitter  bread, 

Mingled  with  falling  tears  that  I  have  shed ; 

Out  of  the  arms  of  death  or  ere  I  die, 

My  soul  lifts  up  her  pleading  cry 

For  Thee. 

I  thirst ;  the  cooling  springs  no  more  o'erflow, 
The  summer  drouth  has  touched  their  sources  so  ; 

My  spirit  fails  beneath  a  fervid  sky, 
Yet  my  hot  lips  still  tremble  with  a  cry 
For  Thee. 

O  Way  of  Life  !  draw  in  my  weary  feet ! 

O  Bread  of  Life  !  of  thee  I  fain  would  eat ! 
O  Living  Water  !  fill  my  chalice  high  ! 

O  Blessed  Christ !  now  hear  my  suppliant  cry 
For  Thee.  MARY  A.  RIPLEY. 

The  mountains  lift  their  crests  so  high,  that  weary 
clouds,  which  have  no  rest  in  the  sky,  love  to  come 
to  them,  and,  wrapping  about  their  tops,  distil  their 
moisture  upon  them.  Thus  mountains  hold  com- 
merce with  God's  invisible  ocean,  and,  like  good 
men,  draw  supplies  from  the  unseen. 

[107]  BEECHER. 


atptti 


A  man  that  hath  friends  must  show  himself  friendly.  — 

Proverbs  33  :  24. 

A  friend  loveth  at  all  times.  —  Proverbs  17:  17. 

IF  we  would  build  on  a  sure  foundation  in  friend- 
ship, we  must  love  our  friends  for  their  sakes 
rather  than  our  own.  CHARLOTTE  BRONTE. 

Be  careful  to  make  friendship  the  child  and  not 
the  father  of  virtue  ;  for  many  strongly  knit  minds 
are  rather  good  friends  than  good  men. 

PHILIP   SIDNEY. 

The  friendship  of  high  and  sanctified  spirits  loses 
nothing  by  death  but  its  alloy  :  failings  disappear, 
and  the  virtues  of  those  whose  "  faces  we  shall 
behold  no  more  "  appear  greater  and  more  sacred 
when  beheld  through  the  shades  of  the  sepulchre. 

ROBERT   HALL. 

The  greatest  medicine  is  a  true  friend. 

SIR   WILLIAM   TEMPLE. 

A  faithful  friend  is  the  true  image  of  the  Deity. 

NAPOLEON. 

How  are  holy  friendships  possible?  In  mutual 
devotedness  to  the  good  and  true.  A  man,  be  the 
heavens  ever  praised,  is  sufficient  for  himself;  yet 
were  ten  men,  united  in  love,  capable  of  being  and 
of  doing  what  ten  thousand  singly  would  fail  in. 
Infinite  is  the  help  man  can  yield  to  man. 
[108] 


Whosoever  is  born  of  God  overcometh  the  world.  — S.  John 

4=5- 

followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the 

promises.  —  Hebrews  6 :  12. 

r  I  "HOSE  who  are  now  at  rest  were  once  like 
JL  ourselves.  They  were  once  weak,  faulty,  sin- 
ful ;  they  had  their  burdens  and  hindrances,  their 
slumbering  and  weariness,  their  failures  and  their 
falls. 

But  now  they  have  overcome.  Their  life  was 
once  homely  and  commonplace.  Their  day  ran  out 
as  ours.  Morning  and  noon  and  night  came  and 
went  to  them  as  to  us.  Their  life,  too,  was  as  lonely 
and  sad  as  yours.  Little  fretful  circumstances  and 
frequent  disturbing  changes  wasted  away  their  hours 
as  yours.  There  is  nothing  in  your  life  that  was 
not  in  theirs ;  there  was  nothing  in  theirs  but  may 
be  also  in  yours.  They  have  overcome,  each  one, 
and  one  by  one;  each  in  his  turn,  when  the  day 
came,  and  God  called  him  to  trial.  And  so  shall 
you  likewise.  H.  E.  MANNING. 

Where  now  with  pain  thou  treadest,  trod 
The  whitest  of  the  saints  of  God  ! 
To  show  thee  where  their  feet  were  set, 
The  light  which  led  them  shineth  yet. 

WHITTIER. 

When  we  comprehend  the  fulness  of  what  death 
will  do  for  us,  in  all  our  outlook  and  forelook,  dying 
is  triumphing.  BEECHER. 

[109] 


jjimeteentt)  Dap 

To  every  thing  there  is  a  season.  .  .  .  He  hath  made  every 
thing  beautiful  in  his  time. —  Ecclesiastes  3:1. 
For,  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone ;  the 
flowers  appear  on  the  earth;  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds 
is  come.  .  .  .  The  fig  tree  putleth  forth  her  green  Jigs.  — 
Song  of  Solomon  2:11,  12,  13. 

NATURE   becomes   to   the   soul   a  perpetual 
letter  from  God,  freshly  written  every  day 
and  each  hour. 

The  sun  does  not  shine  for  a  few  trees   and 

flowers,  but  for  the  wide  world's  joy. 

Flowers  are  the  sweetest  things  that  God  ever 
made,  and  forgot  to  put  a  soul  into. 

The  superfluous  blossoms  on  a  fruit  tree  are 
meant  to  symbolize  the  large  way  in  which  God 
loves  to  do  pleasant  things. 

As  flowers  never  put  on  their  best  clothes  for 
Sunday,  but  wear  their  spotless  raiment  and  exhale 
their  odor  every  day,  so  let  your  Christian  life,  free 
from  stain,  ever  give  forth  the  fragrance  of  the  love 
of  God. 

The  lonely  pine  on  the  mountain-top  waves  its 
sombre  boughs  and  cries:  "Thou  art  my  sun!" 
And  the  little  meadow-violet  lifts  its  cup  of  blue, 
and  whispers  with  its  perfumed  breath,  "Thou  art 
my  sun  ! "  And  the  grain  in  a  thousand  fields 
rustles  in  the  wind  and  makes  answer,  "  Thou  art 
my  sun  !  "  BEECHER. 

[no] 


Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead ?  is  there  no  physician  there?  — 
Jeremiah  9 :  22. 

Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  Mood,  hath  eternal 
life;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day. — S.  John  6:  54. 

THERE  are  necessities  in  our  hearts  which 
nothing  human  can  supply ;  passions  which 
nothing  human  can  either  satisfy  or  control ;  powers 
which  nothing  human  can  either  adequately  excite 
or  occupy ;  and  oh,  there  are  sorrows,  deep  sor- 
rows, which  will  not  be  assuaged  ;  wounds  which, 
if  the  balm  in  Gilead  cannot  heal,  must  fester  for- 
evermore ;  sins,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  all  skill 
but  that  of  the  Great  Physician  of  souls. 

R.  J.  BRECKINRIDGE,  D.D. 

We  shall  not  be  critics  then,  pedants  then,  little 
technical  inquirers  then.  We  shall  feel  that  the 
cross,  and  that  alone,  can  go  right  into  our  life, 
with  the  answer  to  our  difficulties,  and  the  balm 
for  our  wound  and  sorrow.  JOSEPH  PARKER. 

Just  as  I  am, —  poor,  wretched,  blind  ; 
Sight,  riches,  healing  of  the  mind, 
Yea,  all  I  need,  in  Thee  I  find, — 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  ! 

Just  as  I  am, —  Thou  wilt  receive  ; 
Wilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve ; 
Because  Thy  promise,  I  believe, — 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  ! 

[m] 


For  my  name's  sake  will  I  defer  mine  anger.  .  .  .  For 
mine  own  sake,  even  for  mine  own  sake,  will  I  do  it.  — 
Isaiah  48:  9-11. 

Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on 
thee;  because  he  trusteth  in  thee. — Isaiah  26 :  3. 

IT  requires  a  great  amount  of  courage  to  conquer 
self.  "  He  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  is  greater 
than  he  that  taketh  a  city ; "  and  though  the  name 
of  the  one  that  conquers  himself  may  not  be  em- 
blazoned and  immortalized  as  that  of  the  general 
who  captures  a  city,  yet  it  may  be  noticed  by  a 
child  who  may  be  led  in  the  same  way  to  conquer. 

"  For  my  name's  sake  will  I  defer 

Mine  anger,"  said  the  King. 
For  His  name's  sake,  for  His  own  sake, 

Still  unfaltering 
In  His  kindly  patience,  He 

Doth  silent  wait  as  then, 
Doth  silent  wait,  and  silent  watch, 

This  Lord  and  King  of  men. 

"  For  my  name's  sake,  for  mine  own  sake  :  " 

Oh,  wise  and  subtle  speech, 
That  leadeth  us,  that  showeth  us, 

The  height  that  we  might  reach  ; 
That  height  of  heights,  where  Love  enthroned, 

Reins  sov'reign  of  the  soul, 
And  guides  the  impulse  and  the  will 

With  sure  and  sweet  control. 


Then  we  which  are  alive  and  remain,  shall  be  caugJit  up 
together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air; 
and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  comfort 
one  another  with  these  words. —  I  Thessalonians  17  :  18. 

WHEN  our  last  summons  shall  come  to  us, 
may  it  not  be  the  surprise  of  sorrow,  but 
rather  of  joy,  and  may  we  hear  in  the  voice  of 
death  the  call  of  God,  "  Come  up  hither."  And 
when  we  reach  home  and  Christ  may  we  find  there 
awaiting  us,  safe  and  glorified,  those  whom  we  have 
loved  and  lost  —  those  who  have  been  called  from 
our  side  to  await  us  in  the  clouds. 

The  heart  which,  like  a  staff,  was  one 
For  mine  to  lean  and  rest  upon, 
The  strongest  on  the  longest  day 
With  steadfast  love,  is  caught  away  — 
And  yet  my  days  go  on,  go  on. 

Whatever's  lost,  it  first  was  won  ; 
We  will  not  struggle  nor  impugn. 
Perhaps  the  cup  was  broken  here 
That  heaven's  new  wine  might  show  more  clear. 
I  praise  Thee  while  my  days  go  on. 

I  praise  Thee  while  my  days  go  on ; 
I  love  Thee  while  my  days  go  on  ! 
Through  dark  and  dearth,  through  fire  and  frost, 
With  emptied  arms  and  treasure  lost, 
I  thank  Thee  while  my  days  go  on. 

MRS.  BROWNING. 


For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.  —  S.  John  3  :  16. 

LOVE  strong  as  death  —  nay,  stronger, 
Love  mightier  than  the  grave, 
Broad  as  the  earth,  and  longer 

Than  ocean's  wildest  wave  ; 
This  is  the  love  that  sought  us, 
This  is  the  love  that  bought  us, 
This  is  the  love  that  brought  us 

To  gladdest  day  from  saddest  night, 

From  deepest  shame  to  glory  bright, 

From  depths  of  death  to  life's  fair  height  ; 
This  is  the  love  that  leadeth 

Us  to  His  table  here, 

This  the  love  that  spreadeth 

For  us  the  royal  cheer. 


When  temptation  sore  is  rife, 
When  we  faint  amidst  the  strife, 
Thou,  whose  death  hath  been  our  life, 
Save  us,  Holy  Jesu. 

So,  with  hope  in  Thee  made  fast, 
When  death's  bitterness  is  past 
We  may  see  Thy  face  at  last  : 

Save  us,  Holy  Jesu. 

LITANY    OF   THE   PASSION, 


Ye  have  not  passed  this  way  heretofore.  — Joshua  3 :  4. 

DO  not  draw  back  from  any  way  because  you 
never  have  passed  there  before.  The  truth, 
the  task,  the  joy,  the  suffering  on  whose  border  you 
are  standing,  oh,  my  friend,  to-day  go  into  it  with- 
out a  fear :  only  go  into  it  with  God  who  has  been 
always  with  you.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

And  thither  thou,  beloved,  and  thither  I 
May  set  our  heart,  and  set  our  face,  and  go 
Faint,  yet  pursuing  home  on  tireless  feet. 

CHRISTINA  ROSSETTI. 

Heaven  the  country,  Christ  the  way. 

We  know  the  way  :  thank  God  who  hath  shown  us 

the  way  ! 

Jesus  Christ  our  way  to  beautiful  Paradise, 
Jesus  Christ  the  Same  forever,  the  Same  to-day. 

CHRISTINA  ROSSETTI. 

Through  love  to  light !     Oh,  wonderful  the  way 
That  leads  from  darkness  to  the  perfect  day  ! 
From  darkness  and  from  sorrow  of  the  night 
To  morning  that  comes  singing  o'er  the  sea. 
Through  love  to  light !     Through  light,  O  God,  to 

Thee 
Who  art  the  love  of  love,  the  eternal  light  of  light. 

RICHARD  WATSON  GILDER. 


For  the  goodness  of  God  emiureth  continually.  —  Psalm  52 :  I. 
For  his  merciful  kindness  is  great  toward  us  :  and  the  truth 
of  the  Lord  endureth  forever.  —  Psalm  117:  2. 

IN  the  petty  round  of  duties 
When  the  strength  and  patience  fail, 
In  the  heat  and  stress  of  battle 

When  the  bravest  spirits  quail, 
In  the  hour  of  self-surrender, 

Dwell  not  on  the  painful  strife, 
But  remember  God  who  loves  thee 
Planned  thy  lot  and  place  in  life. 

Every  battle  with  thy  self-hood, 

Every  failure  overcome, 
Every  harshness  unresented 

While  the  lips  keep  bravely  dumb, 
Brings  us  nearer  to  God's  promise 

And  His  pardoning  gift  of  love, 
Lifts  the  soul  from  earthly  shadows 

To  the  perfect  life  above. 

Lean  far  out  into  the  future,  — 

It  will  teach  thee  how  to  wait ; 
Look  alone  to  God's  sweet  mercy, 

With  no  thought  of  chance  or  fate ; 
And  beyond  earth's  transient  echoes, 

Leading,  spirit-like,  before, 
Hear  the  promise  still  repeated, 

"  It  endures  forevermore  !  " 

MARTHA   CAPPS   OLIVER. 
[H6J 


God  is   our   refuge   and  strength,  a   very  present  help   in 
trouble.  —  Psalm  46 :  I. 

THERE  is  need  in  adversity  to  cling  fast  to 
God's  hand.  The  Scripture  precepts  are  full 
of  point  and  meaning  as  to  the  perils  of  merely 
human  success.  But  great  and  dreadful  is  the  peril 
of  those  about  whom  a  fierce  and  relentless  army 
of  human  reverses  has  encamped,  who  see  the 
failure  of  one  human  hope  after  another,  with  only 
winter  and  night  as  the  emblems  of  their  life.  How 
precious  to  all  in  such  sorrow  is  the  sun  of  God's 
love,  that  is  always  shining,  the  blessings  always 
ready  to  spring  up  in  the  heart  worn  with  the  cares 
of  earth,  when  that  heart  turns  to  receive  the  in- 
fluences of  heaven. 

Ah  !  feeble,  deftless  hands  of  time, 

That  are  not  apt  their  tasks  to  do  ! 
Ah  !  dim,  weak  eyes  that  ought  to  shine, 

Dull  thought  that  cannot  thought  pursue  ! 
Yet  some  wise  hand  controls  my  hand, 
And  light  gleams  till  I  understand. 
And  through  the  days,  whate'er  betide, 

I  feel  a  mystery  of  aid 
Within  me,  and  on  every  side, 

So  that  I  need  not  be  dismayed. 
Where'er  I  go,  a  Helper  there 

Receives  me  into  tender  care. 

MARIANNE   FARNINGHAM. 
["7] 


We  -walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  — 2  Corinthians  5  :  7. 

NOT  by  mere  moods,  not  by  how  I  feel  to-day, 
or  how  I  felt  yesterday,  may  I  know  whether 
I  am  indeed  living  the  life  of  God,  but  only  by 
knowing  that  God  is  using  me  to  help  others.  No 
mood  is  so  bright  that  it  can  do  without  that 
warrant.  No  mood  so  dark  that,  having  that  war- 
rant, it  need  despair.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

We  cannot  kindle  when  we  will 
The  fire  which  in  the  heart  resides, 

The  spirit  bloweth  and  is  still, 
In  sympathy  our  soul  abides  : 

But  tasks  in  hours  of  insight  willed 

Can  be  through  hours  of  gloom  fulfilled. 

With  aching  hands  and  bleeding  feet 
We  dig  and  heap,  lay  stone  by  stone ; 

We  bear  the  burden  and  the  heat 

Of  the  long  day  and  wish  'twere  done. 

Not  till  the  hours  of  light  return 

All  we  have  built  do  we  discern. 

MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 

Follow  the  teachings  of  God's  providence  blindly 
if  He  so  wills  it,  but  looking  back  at  the  end  of 
life  we  shall  see  that  it  was  the  only  possible  way  for 
us  to  reach  our  best  development. 

[118] 


Great  is  thy  faith ;  be  it  unto  thee  even  as  thou  wilt. —  S. 
Matthew  15:  28. 

1  ^AITH  is  the  king's  knowledge  of  his  own 
JL  kingdom.  A  weak  man  who  has  no  faith  in 
Christ  is  a  king  who  does  not  know  his  own  royalty. 
But  the  soul  which  in  its  need  cries  out  and  claims 
its  need's  dominion  ..."  Come  to  me,  O  Christ, 
for  I  need  Thee,"  finds  itself  justified.  Its  bold 
and  humble  cry  is  honoured  and  answered  instantly. 
The  answer  comes,  "  Great  is  thy  faith  :  be  it  unto 
thee  as  thou  wilt."  "  What  wilt  thou  that  I  should 
do  unto  thee  ?  " 

Faith  adds  new  charms  to  earthly  bliss, 
And  saves  me  from  its  snares ; 

Its  aid,  in  every  duty,  brings 
And  softens  all  my  cares. 

Wide  it  unveils  celestial  worlds 
Where  deathless  pleasures  reign ; 

And  bids  me  seek  my  portion  there, 
Nor  bids  me  seek  in  vain. 

There,  there  unshaken  would  I  rest, 

Till  this  frail  body  dies  ; 
And  then  on  faith's  triumphant  wings, 

To  endless  glory  rise. 

TURNER. 


For  the  Lord  give  th  wisdom:  out  of  his  mouth  cometh  knowl- 
edge and  understanding. —  Proverbs  2  :  6. 

BIBLE  study  teaches  how  to  grapple  with  spir- 
itual problems  before  those  questions  become 
so  profound  as  to  defy  solution.  What  a  safeguard 
is  this  from  folly  —  what  a  protection  from  danger  ! 
When  temptations  come  it  finds  the  soul  so  an- 
chored in  the  faith  that  it  is  not  moved  from  its 
foundations  of  righteousness.  Its  convictions  are 
clear  and  well-wrought  out,  for  it  has  settled  the 
solemn  question  of  life  once  for  all  and  is  freed 
from  doubt  and  unrest.  Bible  study  develops 
latent  powers.  It  brings  into  the  life  an  object, 
into  the  heart  a  joy,  into  the  future  a  hope.  New 
desires  and  beliefs  start  into  being.  Then  thoughts 
which  had  been  but  dimly  outlined  become  visible, 
and  thus  the  soul- education  is  begun.  Divine 
meanings  sometimes  flash  into  view  from  the  study 
of  some  single  verse  which  has  long  seemed  ob- 
scure, and  then  the  spiritual  perceptions  start  up 
into  swift  and  beautiful  creation.  With  magnetic 
force  they  grasp  the  complex  meanings  and  the 
hidden  strength.  MARTHA  CAPPS  OLIVER. 

What  glory  gilds  the  sacred  page  ! 

Majestic,  like  the  sun, 
It  gives  a  light  to  every  age ; 
It  gives,  but  borrows  none. 

WILLIAM  COWPER. 

[120] 


Ctjirttetl) 

A  still,  small  voice. —  I  Kings  19:  12. 

HOW  the  sorrows  and  perplexities  of  life  mul- 
tiply and  darken  around  us  in  the  midnight 
watches  !  Then  is  the  time  when  the  soul  should 
lean  hard  upon  the  Everlasting  Arms,  remembering 
that  if  we  have  wandered  there  is  one  strong  to 
restore.  If  we  have  sinned  there  is  one  ready  to 
forgive. 

Oh,  the  waiting  in  the  watches  of  the  night ! 

In  the  darkness,  desolation,  and  contrition,  and 

afright ; 
In  the  awful  hush  that  holds  us  shut  away  from 

all  delight ; 

The  ever  weary  fancy  that  forever  weary  goes, 
Recounting  ever  over  every  aching  loss  it  knows, 
The  ever  weary  eyelids  gasping  ever  for  repose  — 
In  the  dreary,  weary  watches  of  the  night. 
Dark,  stifling  dark  —  the  watches  of  the  night. 
With  tingling  nerves  at  tension,  how  the  blackness 

flashes  white. 

With  spectral  visitations  smitten  past  the  inner  sight ! 
What  shuddering  sense  of  wrongs  we've  wrought 

that  may  not  be  redressed. 
Of  tears  we  did  not  brush  away  —  of  lips  we  left 

unpressed, 
And  hands  that  we  let  fall,  with  all  their  loyalty 

unguessed  ! 
Ah  !  the  empty,  empty  watches  of  the  night ! 

[121]  JAMES   W.    RILEY. 


9 

jfifti) 


/  must  work  the  works  of  him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day.  — 
S.  John  9  :  4. 

May  Song. 

BEE,  sipping  sweets  from  the  nodding  white 
clover, 

Lingering  long  where  the  honey-dew  drips, 
Teach  me  a  lesson,  O  busy  brown  rover, 
Tell  me  what  theme  I  should  keep  on  my  lips. 
"  Work,"  hums  the  bee,  "  be  ceaselessly  doing, 
Garner  your  stores  in  the  bright  morning  hours  ; 
Fair  is  the  day,  but  the  dim  night  pursuing 
Drops  her  dark  mantle  o'er  close-folded  flowers." 

Lily,  my  priestess,  so  white  and  so  saintly, 
Lifting  your  face  to  the  sun's  golden  glow, 
Preach  me  a  sermon,  oh,  whisper  it  faintly, 
Can  they  live  purely  who  live  here  below? 

"  Turn  your  face  skyward  ;  base  souls  in  depres- 
sion, 

Bend  the  gaze  downward,  where  clods  bound  the 
view  ; 

Nature  makes  ever  her  silent  confession  ; 

Growth  seeks  the  light,  pure  souls  seek  the  true." 

MRS.  JOHN   JAY   McCABE. 


[122] 


Shokcspear 


The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  —  Job  I  :  21 . 

DEATH  is  the  swelling  of  the  seed  that  is  dried 
up,  and  that  is  waiting  for  its  planting. 
Death  is  the  bursting  April  that  all  winter  long  has 
lain  close-bound  within  itself,  waiting  for  its  life  of 
efflorescence.  Death  is  entering  on  summer  from 
the  frigid  zone.  When  you  look  on  it  in  the  light 
of  this  grander  disclosure,  this  prophetic  thought 
of  the  apostle,  the  wonder  is  that  men  want  to  live, 
that  they  do  not  hunger  and  thirst  for  dying.  For 
death  is  coronation ;  it  is  stepping  from  bond- 
age into  liberty,  from  darkness  into  light,  it  is  blos- 
soming ;  it  is  going  out  of  a  prison-house  into  the 
glory  of  the  Father's  community.  When  the  hero 
goes  do  not  cover  him  with  black,  nor  with  any  of 
the  circumstances  that  related  to  him  here.  Chris- 
tianity after  a  few  thousand  years  ought  to  have 
taught  man,  that  the  going  out  of  life  is  for  honour 
and  glory  and  immortality.  BEECHER. 

Oh,  to  be  ready  when  death  shall  come ; 
Oh,  to  be  ready  to  hasten  home ; 

No  earthward  clinging, 

No  lingering  gaze, 

No  sigh  at  parting, 

No  sore  amaze, 

But  sweetly,  gently  to  pass  away, 
From  the  world's  dim  twilight  into  day. 


Yea,  I  will  help  thee.  —  Isaiah  16 :  IO. 

Now  the  God  of  patience  and  consolation  grant  you  to  be  like- 
minded  one  towards  another  according  to  Christ  Jesus. — 
Romans  5:5. 


BE  angel  to  some  one  to-day  : 
Thou  knowest  not  who  it  may  be ; 
Some  fallen  one  found  by  the  way, 
That  asketh  assistance  from  thee. 

Mayhap  at  the  Beautiful  Gates, 

Where  circumspect  worshippers  throng, 
A  wandering  beggar  awaits 

To  catch  the  sweet  service  of  song. 

It  may  be  that  somebody's  child, 

Aweary  with  wages  of  sin, 
Bedraggled  with  filth  and  defiled, 

Is  anxious  true  life  to  begin. 

Then  open  thy  heart  and  thy  hand, 
The  supplicant  turn  not  away, 

But  give  what  thou  hast  at  command  — 
Be  angel  to  some  one  to-day. 

Thou  knowest  not  but  in  that  hour 
Thou  checkest  the  sob  or  the  tear, 

The  Author  of  life-giving  power, 
The  Master  Himself  may  appear. 


[124] 


jfourtJ) 

But  they  shall  sit  every  man   under  his  vine  and  his  fig 
tree.  —  Micah  4 :  4. 

THERE  are  abodes  in  all  of  our  cities,  poor, 
humble  rooms  ;  yet  the  men  who  live  in  them 
would  die  rather  than  to  surrender  them.  For  each 
house  is  home  to  some  of  these  men.  Whenever 
he  thinks  of  it  he  sees  angels  of  God  hovering 
around  it.  The  ladders  of  heaven  are  let  down  to 
it.  The  children  may  come  up  after  awhile,  and 
win  high  position,  but  not  until  their  dying  day 
will  they  forget  that  humble  roof,  under  which 
their  father  rested  and  their  mother  sang.  Oh,  if 
you  would  gather  up  all  the  tender  memories,  all 
the  lights  and  shades  of  the  heart,  and  had  only 
four  letters  to  spell  out  their  magnitude  and  eter- 
nity of  meaning,  you  would,  with  streaming  eyes 
and  trembling  hand,  write  it  out  in  these  four  living 
capitals,  "  HOME."  TALMAGE. 

Our  Mothers. 
Hundreds  of  stars  in  the  lovely  sky, 

Hundreds  of  shells  on  the  shore  together, 
Hundreds  of  birds  that  go  singing  by, 

Hundreds  of  birds  in  the  sunny  weather. 

Hundreds  of  dewdrops  to  greet  the  dawn, 
Hundreds  of  bees  in  the  purple  clover, 

Hundreds  of  butterflies  on  the  lawn, 

But  only  one  mother,  the  wide  world  over. 

THE   ADVANCE. 


jfiftl) 

They  shall  abundantly  utter  the  memory  of  thy  great  good- 
ness. —  Psalm  1 65  :  7. 

HE  will  revere  those  times,  and  in  our  memo- 
ries preserve  and  still  keep  fresh,  like  flowers 
in  water,  those  happier  days.  RICHTER. 

Memory  seizes  the  passing  moment,  fixes  it  upon 
the  canvas,  and  hangs  the  picture  on  the  walls  of 
the  inner  chamber  of  the  soul,  for  her  to  look  upon 
when  she  will.  HAVEN. 

There  are  recollections  as  pleasant  as  they  are 
sacred  and  eternal.  There  are  words  and  faces 
and  places  that  never  lose  their  hold  upon  the 
heart.  There  may  be  words  that  we  seldom  hear 
amid  the  whirl  of  life ;  faces  that  we  may  never  see 
on  earth  again  ;  but  they  had  a  controlling  influence 
over  us,  and  they  can  never  be  wholly  forgotten. 
The  flight  of  years  cannot  sully  their  innocence, 
nor  diminish  their  interest,  and  eternity  will  pre- 
serve them  among  the  dearest  reminiscences  of 
earth.  We  may  meet  and  love  other  faces,  we  may 
treasure  other  words,  we  may  have  other  joys, 
but  those  familiar  faces,  and  those  dear  old  places, 
remain  invested  with  a  fadeless  beauty.  They  be- 
come the  stars  in  the  firmament  of  youth,  lighting 
up  the  night  of  the  past,  and  when  in  later  years 
the  shades  of  sorrow  gather  around  the  soul, 
memory  reveals  those  stars  still  shining. 

HENRY   A.  WALKER. 
[I26] 


77ie  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked. 
—  Jeremiah  17:9. 

QELFISHNESS  may  masquerade  as  love.  It 
w.3  may  christen  its  own  sins,  foibles,  by  condon- 
ing the  offences  of  others,  meaning  at  the  same 
time  to  lug  its  own  sins  through  the  breach  in  the 
legal  wall  that  it  has  made  for  other  people's  delin- 
quencies. That  self-cheat  is  a  fruit  of  the  heart  that 
is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked. 

To  escape  this  error  the  Bible  must  be  constantly 
studied.  It  is  a  "  lamp  unto  the  feet  and  a  light 
unto  the  path,"  but  if  it  is  left  on  a  book-shelf 
opened  only  on  special  occasions,  ...  it  cannot 
light  one  through  these  difficult  ways. 

" The  heart  is  deceitful"  ;  this  defines  sin  clearly, 
warns  the  transgressor  plainly,  and  swings  its  lurid 
danger  signal  over  the  abyss  of  despair,  and  sets 
forth  distinctly  the  fact  that  no  amiability,  not 
even  the  moralities,  can  cure  sin. 

Lord  !  we  would  put  aside 
The  gauds  and  baubles  of  this  mortal  life  — 
Weak  self-conceit,  the  foolish  tools  of  strife, 

The  tawdry  garb  of  pride  — 

And  pray,  in  Christ's  dear  name, 
Thy  grace  to  deck  us  in  the  robes  of  light ; 
That  at  His  coming  we  may  stand  aright, 

And  fear  no  sudden  shame. 

AN   ADVENT   CAROL. 
[127] 


We  shall  be  changed.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on 
incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality.  — 
I  Corinthians  15  :  53. 

IF  life  be  regarded  as  the  commencement  of 
immortality,  it  will  be  freed  from  trifling  asso- 
ciations, and  still  more  from  those  which  are  low 
and  degrading.  It  will  assume  a  permanence  in 
our  eyes  from  its  first  moment  to  its  last.  It  will 
be  the  opening  of  a  boundless  career.  Death  will 
no  more  be  a  violent  extinction,  a  fathomless  and 
frightful  chasm,  a  blank  oblivion ;  but  it  will  be  a 
change,  a  landing-place,  an  entrance  into  the  ever- 
lasting abode  of  spirits  and  of  God.  It  will  be 
regarded  by  the  contemplative  as 
Life's  last  shore, 

Where  vanities  are  vain  no  more, 

Where  all  pursuits  their  goal  obtain, 

And  life  is  all  retouched  again ; 

When  in  their  bright  results  shall  rise 

Thoughts,  virtues,  friendships,  griefs,  and  joys. 

With  rest  almost  in  sight  the  spirit  faints, 
And  flesh  and  heart  grow  weary  at  the  last ; 

Our  feet  would  walk  the  %ity  of  the  saints, 
Even  before  the  silent  gate  is  passed. 

Teach  us  to  wait  until  Thou  shalt  appear  — 
To  know  that  all  Thy  ways  and  times  are  just : 

Thou  seest  wh^t  we  believe  and  fear, 
Lord,  make  us  also  to  believe  and  trust ! 

[128]  PHCEBE   GARY. 


etgljtl) 

Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart :    Be  strong,  fear 
not.  —  Isaiah  35  :  4. 

LET  not  future  things  disturb  thee,  for  thou 
wilt  come  to  them,  if  it  shall  be  necessary, 
having  with  thee  the  same  reason  which  thou  now 
usest  for  present  things. 

MARCUS   AURELIUS   ANTONINUS. 

Be  quiet,  why  this  anxious  heed 

About  thy  tangled  ways? 
God  knows  them  all,  He  giveth  speed, 

And  He  allows  delays.  E.  w. 

Let  God  do  with  me  what  He  will,  anything  He 
will ;  whatever  it  be,  it  will  either  be  heaven  itself 
or  some  beginning  of  it.  WILLIAM  MOUNTFORD. 

Cast  all  thy  care  on  God.  See  that  all  thy  cares 
be  such  as  thou  canst  cast  on  God,  and  then  hold 
none  back.  Never  brood  over  thyself  ;  but  cast 
thy  whole  self,  even  this  very  care  which  distresseth 
thee,  upon  God.  Be  not  anxious  about  little  things, 
if  thou  wouldst  learn  to  trust  God  with  thine  all. 
Act  upon  faith  in  little  things,  commit  thy  daily 
cares  and  anxieties  to  Him  ;  and  He  will  strengthen 
thy  faith  for  any  greater  trials.  E.  B.  PUSEY. 

What  though  I  stand  and  work  alone  ? 

In  some  fair,  unborn  year 
From  seed  which  I  in  tears  have  sown 

A  harvest  will  appear. 

MARTHA    CAPPS    OLIVER. 
[129] 


Let  all  thy  -ways  be  established.  —  Proverbs  4 :  26. 

DO  you  know  what  it  is  to  be  established  ?  God 
give  us  the  power  to  form  habits  that  we  may 
crystallize  character.  All  improvement  in  the  fin- 
gers of  the  knitter,  the  eye  of  the  painter,  the 
tongue  of  the  speaker,  the  hand  of  the  artisan,  is 
the  gift  of  habit.  Prayer,  faith,  regularity,  all  that 
builds  up  steadiness  of  character,  is  augmented  by 
habit.  Habit  is  the  parent's  hold  upon  the  child, 
the  good  man's  power  against  Satan.  To  form 
habit  apply  yourself  to  a  given  plan  industriously, 
punctually,  and  persistently. 

Having  this  power  in  your  mind,  use  it  in  acquir- 
ing habits  of  obedience  and  of  faith. 

To  repel  one's  task  will  only  make  it  more  diffi- 
cult ;  to  accept  it  is  the  sole  way  to  make  it  tolera- 
ble. And,  rightly  accepted,  peace,  if  not  happiness, 
will  follow  its  fulfilment,  "  as  waves  flow  in  the  fur- 
row of  the  ship's  strong  keel." 

j.  j.  MCLAUGHLIN. 

My  half-day's  work  is  done, 

And  this  is  all  my  part, 
I  give  a  patient  God 

My  constant  heart, 
And  clasp  His  banner  still, 

Though  all  the  blue  be  dim ; 
These  stripes,  no  less  than  stars, 

Lead  after  Him. 
[130] 


Day  unto  day  utter eth  speech.  — Psalm  19:  2. 

THERE  is  no  day  born  but  comes  like  a  stroke 
of  music  into  the  world,  and  sings  itself  all 
the  way  through.  No  event  is  discordant.  All  times 
and  passages  are  full  of  melody,  if  we  would  but 
hear  it;  as  in  tumultuous  floods  and  rushing  falls  of 
water,  every  drop  is  as  obedient  to  the  laws  of 
nature  as  if  it  lay  in  the  bosom  of  the  tranquil  lake, 
so  all  things,  wildest  excesses  as  well  as  calmest 
flows,  are  obedient  to  God ;  His  providence  is  in 
them,  stately  and  as  serene  going  on  to  its  own 
ends  and  manifestations. 

BEECHER. 

This  is  the  earth  He  walked  on ;  not  alone 
That  Asian  country  keeps  the  stain ; 
'Tis  not  alone  that  far  Judean  plain, 
Mountain  and  river  !     Lo,  the  sun  that  shone 

On  Him  shines  now  on  us ;  when  day  is  gone 
The  moon  of  Galilee  comes  forth  again 
And  lights  our  path  as  His  :   an  endless  chain 
Of  years  and  sorrows  makes  the  round  world  one. 

The  air  we  breathe,  He  breathed,  —  the  very  air 
That  took  the  mould  and  music  of  His  high 
And  God-like  speech.     Since  then  shall  mortal 
dare 

With  base  thought  front  the  ever-sacred  sky,  — 
Soil  with  foul  deed  the  ground  whereon  He  laid 
In  holy  death  His  pale,  immortal  head  ? 

RICHARD   WATSON   GILDER. 


Grievous  words  stir  up  anger.  —  Proverbs  15:1. 

THE  silence  of  our  innocence  persuades  when 
speaking  fails.  SHAKESPEARE. 

Since  I  cannot  govern  my  tongue,  though  within 
my  own  teeth,  how  can  I  hope  to  govern  the  tongues 
of  others?  FRANKLIN. 

The  Tone  of  the  Voice. 
It  is  not  so  much  what  you  say 

As  the  manner  in  which  you  say  it ; 
It  is  not  so  much  the  language  you  use, 

As  the  tone  in  which  you  convey  it. 

"  Come  here  !  "  I  sharply  said, 

And  the  baby  cowered  and  wept ; 
"  Come  here  ! "  I  cooed,  and  he  looked  and  smiled, 

And  straight  to  my  lap  he  crept. 

The  words  may  be  mild  and  fair, 

And  the  tones  may  pierce  like  a  dart ; 

The  words  may  be  soft  as  the  summer  air, 
And  the  tones  may  break  the  heart. 

For  words  but  come  from  the  mind, 

And  grow  by  study  and  art ; 
But  the  tones  leap  forth  from  the  inner  self, 

And  reveal  the  state  of  the  heart. 

THE   YOUTH'S   COMPANION. 

Think  before  you  speak.  The  ones  we  wound  by 
unkind  speech  are  most  often  those  whose  intimate 
relation  with  us  affords  us  opportunity  for  the  sud- 
den thrust.  [132] 


Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints. — 
Psalm  116  :  15. 

DEATH  is  made  the  conqueror's  coronation. 
The  sunset  means  eternal  day  with  the 
trusting  soul.  Faith  looks  beyond  the  veil,  where 
voices  call  and  hands  beckon  from  the  eternal  future. 
Hence,  we  ever  "  look  up,"  and  from  the  seat  on 
the  throne  with  Christ  we  shall  wait  the  ingathering 
of  the  cycles  of  eternity.  When  the  stars  have 
grown  old,  we  shall  be  young.  When  the  moon 
turns  pale,  our  garlands  will  be  fresh.  When  we 
have  been  singing  ten  thousand  ages,  the  song  we 
sing  will  be  new.  Heaven  will  never  be  exhausted. 

C.  P.  MASDEN. 

"  Sailor  ! "  we  cried,  "  tell  us  where  lies  thy  port !  " 
And  still  came  back  the  answer,  clear  and  strong, 
"  I  know  not  where,  yet  am  I  homeward  bound, 
This  is  His  sea ;  its  pulses  rise  and  fall 
As  His  breath  moves  them,  and  its  currents  set 
Steady  and  deep,  to  bear  me  where  He  will." 
So  he  sailed  on,  and  once,  when  stars  were  large 
And  luminous,  through  changeful  purple  mists, 
Rocked  by  slow  waves  that  bore  him  from  our  sight, 
And  calm  with  peace  that  lay  too  deep  for  smiles, 
He  drifted  gently  to  a  palm-girt  shore, 
And  knew,  at  last,  where  God's  fair  islands  lie. 

EMILY   HUNTINGTON   MILLER. 
[133] 


For  now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face.  — 
I  Corinthians  13:  12. 

WHEN  Alston  died,  he  left  sketches,  with  here 
and  there  a  part  finished  with  wonderful 
beauty.  So  Christians  go  to  heaven  with  their  vir- 
tues in  outline,  only  here  and  there  a  part  completed. 
But  "  that  which  is  in  part  shall  be  done  away,"  and 
God  shall  finish  the  pictures.  BEECHER. 

I  was  so  near  the  garden  wall, 
The  drooping  vines  and  maples  tall, 
The  lawn,  the  house,  each  well-known  place, 
And  yet  the  fog  hid  every  trace 
Of  any  dear  remembered  face. 
A  little  world  drew  near  apace 
And  shut  me  in  —  so  small  and  round, 
So  narrow,  cold,  and  dark,  I  found 
No  hint  of  all  that  lay  so  near 
Of  beauty,  light,  and  love's  good  cheer. 
But  soon  the  rift  grew  wide  and  high, 
And  sunlight,  flashing  from  blue  sky, 
Revealed  each  well-remembered  spot 
The  fog  had  lately  blotted  out. 
So  after  days  brought  mist  and  doubt, 
And  shut  the  love  of  God  without ; 
And  then  again  a  sunbeam  sped 
Through  waves  of  cloud  above  my  head, 
And  as  I  looked  through  rifts  of  cloud 
I  found  familiar  paths  to  God. 

ETTA  R.  McCAUGHEY. 
[134] 


jfourtcentl) 

The  Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil ;  he  shall  preserve 
thy  soul. —  Psalm  131  :  7. 

YOUR  external  circumstances  may  change,  toil 
may  take  the  place  of  rest,  sickness  of  health, 
trials  may  thicken  within  and  without.  Externally, 
you  are  the  prey  of  such  circumstances  ;  but  if  your 
heart  is  stayed  on  God,  no  changes  or  chances  can 
touch  it,  and  all  that  may  befall  you  will  but  draw 
you  closer  to  Him.  Whatever  the  present  moment 
may  bring,  your  knowledge  that  it  is  His  will,  and 
that  your  future  heavenly  life  will  be  influenced  by 
it,  will  make  all  not  only  tolerable,  but  welcome. 

JEAN   NICOLAS   GROU. 

But  when  the  sharp  strokes   flesh  and  heart  run 

through, 

For  thee  and  not  another  :  only  known, 
In  all  the  universe,  through  sense  of  thine ; 
Not  caught  by  eye  or  ear,  not  felt  by  touch, 
Nor  apprehended  by  the  spirit's  sight, 
But  only  by  the  hidden,  tortured  nerves, 
In  all  their  incommunicable  pain,  — 
God  speaks  Himself  to  us,  as  mothers  speak 
To  their  own  babes,  upon  the  tender  flesh 
With  fond  familiar  touches  close  and  dear ;  — 
Because  He  cannot  choose  a  softer  way 
To  make  us  feel  that  He  Himself  is  near, 
And  each  apart  His  own  beloved  and  known. 

UGO  BASSI. 

[135] 


The  tree  is  known  by  his  fruit.  —  S.  Matthew  12 :  33. 

MANY  great  projects  have  their  beginnings  in 
littleness  and  obscurity.  We  are  prone  to 
dwell  upon  certain  epochs  in  the  history  of  nations, 
or  upon  crisis-hours  in  the  lives  of  men,  rather  than 
upon  the  common  level  of  every-day  life.  We 
wonder  over  results  without  considering  causes. 
Little  heeding  the  undercurrent  of  feeling,  which 
silently  gathers  force  and  form,  as  it  nears  the 
shores  of  visible  success,  we  fail  to  divine  the 
secret  unrest  which  impels  its  direction. 

A  poet,  gazing  upon  a  Moslem  temple,  marvelled 
over  the  massive  grandeur  of  its  ancient  walls  which 
centuries  had  not  shaken.  Faith  forsook  his  soul, 
when  he  saw  the  shrine  of  the  false  prophet  firmly 
planted  where  men  had  striven  in  vain  to  estab- 
lish a  temple  of  the  living  Christ.  But  scaling 
the  giddy  wall,  he  found  the  stones  broken  and 
crumbled,  where  a  peepul-tree  had  sprung  from  a 
seed,  chance-flung  upon  the  roof.  That  was  the 
atom  which  was  to  shatter  the  temple  of  a  false 
religion.  The  little  seed 

"  Did  more  to  shiver  the  ancient  wall, 
Than  earthquake,  war,  simoon,  and  all 
The  centuries  in  their  lapse  and  fall." 
So  it  is  in  the  spiritual  realm.     Our  lives  are  wrought 
upon  by  invisible  forces,  and  the  world  recognizes 
the  power  of  those  agencies  only  when  it  sees  their 
accomplished  work.  MRS.  JOHN  JAY  MCCABE. 


7 ««'//  be  glad  ami  rejoice  in  thy  mercy.  —  Psalm  31 :  7. 

MY  little  leaves,  why  are  you  glad  ? 
Answer,  quivering  little  leaves, 
Small  clapping  leaves,  so  freshly  clad, 
In  a  green  world  that  never  grieves. 
Answer  me,  for  my  heart  is  sad  ! 
"Love  God,  love  God  !  "  they  sing, 
Gay  as  the  birds  a-wing. 

My  little  flowers,  what's  your  delight? 

Now  answer,  for  my  soul  believes 
In  your  sweet  petals,  pure  and  white, 

Sweet  purity  no  man  deceives. 
Answer,  my  flow'rets  fair  and  bright. 

"  Love  God,  love  God  !  "  they  sing, 

Gay  as  the  birds  a-wing. 

The  flowers  and  grass  make  their  reply, 

With  all  the  merry  clapping  leaves, 
And  echoing  the  holy  cry, 

The  drooping  heart  its  joy  retrieves. 
All  voices  to  their  maker  fly. 

"  Love  God,  love  God  !  "  they  sing, 

Gay  as  the  birds  a-wing. 

CONSTANCE   HOPE. 

The  utterances  of  God  are  all  around  us  if  we 
will  but  hear  them.  Even  in  the  discords  that  jar 
the  music  of  every  life,  the  accents  of  goodness 
and  mercy  and  divine  love  may  be  heard. 

[137] 


Unto   the  land  flowing  -with  milk  and  honey.  —  Jeremiah 
32 :  22. 

PROSPECT  closely  resembles  retrospect.  The 
traveller,  who  stands  at  a  journey's  end,  weary, 
and  travel-stained  with  the  dust  of  the  way,  looks 
back  over  his  road,  with  a  mind  enriched  by  in- 
cidents of  the  journey.  Travel  has  made  him 
wise ;  we  call  him  a  sage.  But  the  traveller,  with 
his  voyage  yet  before  him,  sees  all  things,  not  in 
retrospect,  but  in  prospect.  .  .  .  He  sees  visions 
of  holy  peoples,  heavenly  lands  and  wonderful 
scenes,  towards  which  he  is  setting  his  face.  He 
becomes  a  seer.  EDWARD  G.  BALDWIN. 

Oh,  as  I  rest  when  the  long  march  is  over, 
Loosing  my  sandals  at  close  of  the  day, 
Journeyings  ended,  no  longer  a  rover, 

Still  keep  me  near  Thee  forever  and  aye. 
Then  while  I  swell  the  glad  strain  of  rejoicing 

Pealing  far  over  Eternity's  sea, 
This  is  the  theme  I  will  ever  be  voicing, 
Nearer  my  Saviour,  still  nearer  to  Thee  ! 
Pilgrimage  ended, 
Lights  and  shades  blended, 
Then  face  to  face  will  I  see 
How  Thou  did'st  lead  me, 
How  Thou  did'st  speed  me, 
Nearer  and  nearer  to  Thee  ! 

MARTHA    CAPPS    OLIVER. 


Ctgljteenti) 

Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  — The  Lord's  Prayer. 

IV  E  us  our  daily  bread,"  we  pray, 
And  know  but  half  of  what  we  say. 

The  bread  on  which  our  bodies  feed 
Is  but  the  moiety  of  our  need. 

The  soul,  the  heart,  must  nourished  be, 
And  share  the  daily  urgency. 

And  though  it  may  be  bitter  bread 
On  which  the  nobler  parts  are  fed, 

No  less  we  crave  the  daily  dole, 
O  Lord,  of  body  and  of  soul ! 

Sweet  loaves,  the  wine  must  all  afoam, 
The  manna  and  the  honey-comb, 

All  these  are  good,  but  better  still 

The  food  which  checks  and  moulds  the  will. 

The  sting  for  pride,  the  smart  for  sin  — 
The  purging  draught  for  self  within, 

The  sorrows  which  we  shuddering  meet, 
Not  knowing  their  after-taste  of  sweet, 

All  these  we  ask  for  when  we  pray, 
"Give  us  our  daily  bread  this  day." 

SUSAN   COOLIDGE. 

O  Father,  give  us,  we  pray  Thee,  not  what  we 
in  our  blindness  ask  for,  but  what  Thou  in  Thy 
wisdom  seest  that  we  need  ! 

[i39] 


For  if  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses  your  heavenly  Father 
will  also  forgive  you.  —  S.  Matthew  6:  14. 

MY  heart  was  heavy,  for  its  trust  had  been 
Abused,  its   kindness   answered  with  foul 

wrong ; 
So,  turning  gloomily  from  my  fellow-men, 

One  summer  Sabbath-day  I  strolled  among 
The  green  mounds  of  the  village  burial-place  ; 

Where,  pondering  how  all  human  love  and  -hate 

Find  one  sad  level ;  and  how,  soon  or  late, 
Wronged  and  wrong-doer,  each  with  meekened  face, 
And  cold  hands  folded  over  a  still  heart, 

Pass  the  green  threshold  of  our  common  grave, 
Whither  all  footsteps  tend,  whence  none  depart, 
Awed,  for  myself,  and  pitying  my  race, 
Our  common  sorrow,  like  a  mighty  wave, 

Swept  all  my  pride  away,  and  trembling  I  forgave. 

WHITTIER. 

Think  on  thy  wants,  on  thy  faults.  Recollect  all 
the  patience,  all  the  kindness,  all  the  tenderness, 
which  has  been  shown  thee.  Think  also  on  life  — 
how  short  it  is,  how  much  unavoidable  bitterness  it 
possesses ;  how  much  which  it  is  easy  either  to 
bear  or  chase  away ;  and  think  how  the  power  of 
affection  can  make  all  things  right. 

FREDERIKA    BREMER. 

Not  how  much  we  have  borne,  but  how  freely 
we  have  forgiven,  will  be  the  plea  which  wins  our 
own  pardon. 

[140] 


Restore  tinto  me.  —  Psalm  51  :  12. 

I  LOST  a  friend  the  other  day  — 
His  heart  was  pure  and  strong  and  true 
Our  days  were  sweet,  but  all  too  few ; 
He  passed  from  earth  —  the  other  day. 
But  while  I  see  him  here  no  more, 
I  know  that  on  a  happier  shore, 
Not  here,  but  in  eternity, 
God  will  give  back  my  friend  to  me. 

I  lost  a  friend  long  years  ago  — 

Awhile  our  paths  together  lay, 

And  we  were  happy  by  the  way 
Until  we  parted  —  years  ago. 
From  out  each  other's  lives  we  passed ; 
Each  went  his  way,  but  yet,  at  last, 

Or  here,  or  in  eternity, 

God  will  give  back  my  friend  to  me. 

I  lost  a  friend  —  or,  shall  I  say, 

He  lost  himself !     For  sin  and  shame 
Have  left  me  little  but  the  name 

Of  him  I  loved,  and  love  to-day. 

My  friend,  as  lost,  I  weep,  deplore ; 

But  faith  says  :  "  One  can  save,  restore." 
To  Thee  I  come,  I  pray  to  Thee, 
O  Christ,  give  back  my  friend  to  me. 

PATON    H.    HOGE. 
[141] 


My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee.  —  2  Corinthians  12:9. 

GOD  is  enough  !  thou,  who  in  hope  and  fear 
Toilest  through  desert-sands  of  life,  sore-tried, 
Climb  trustful  over  death's  black  ridge,  for  near 
The  bright  wells  shine  :  thou  wilt  be  satisfied. 

God  doth  suffice  !  O  thou,  the  patient  one, 
Who  puttest  faith  in  Him,  and  none  beside, 

Bear  yet  thy  load ;  under  the  setting  sun 
The  glad  tents  gleam  :  thou  wilt  be  satisfied. 

By  God's  gold  Afternoon  !  peace  ye  shall  have  ; 

Man  is  in  loss  except  he  live  aright, 
And  help  his  fellow  to  be  firm  and  brave, 

Faithful  and  patient :  then  the  restful  night ! 

EDWIN   ARNOLD. 

I  have  seemed  to  see  a  need  of  everything  God 
gives  me,  and  want  nothing  that  He  denies  me. 
There  is  no  dispensation,  though  afflictive,  but 
either  in  it,  or  after  it,  I  find  that  I  could  not  be 
without  it.  Whether  it  be  taken  from  or  not  given 
me,  sooner  or  later  God  quiets  me  in  Himself 
without  it.  I  cast  all  my  concerns  on  the  Lord, 
and  live  securely  on  the  care  and  wisdom  of  my 
Heavenly  Father. 

My  ways,  you  know,  are,  in  a  sense,  hedged  up 
with  thorns,  and  grow  darker  and  darker  daily ; 
but  yet  I  distrust  not  my  God  in  the  least,  and  live 
more  quietly  in  the  absence  of  all  faith,  than  I 
should  do,  I  am  persuaded,  if  I  possessed  them. 
[142] 


Abide  till  ye  go  thence. — S.  Matthew  10:  II. 
The  Master  of  the  Isles. 


J 


UST  beyond  our  utmost  fathom 
Is  the  anchorage  we  crave, 

But  the  Master  knows  the  soundings 
By  the  reach  of  every  wave 


What  imperial  adventure 

Some  wide  morning  it  will  be, 

Sweeping  to  the  Lonely  Haven 
From  the  chartless  round  of  sea  ! 

How  imposing  a  departure, 
While  this  little  harbor  smiles, 

Steering  for  the  outer  sea-rim 
With  the  Master  of  the  Isles  ! 

BLISS   CARMAN. 

As  strangers  and  voyagers  our  city  of  habitation 
is  not  here ;  the  houses  we  build  are  but  for  the 
hour ;  the  city,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God, 
shines  everlastingly  ;  and  those  mansions,  not  made 
with  hands  but  eternal  in  the  heavens,  are  our 
home.  Thitherward  we  flock  in  companies  and  in 
families  —  thither  each  is  tending.  And  we  rejoice 
that  God  is  sending  forth  messages  to  us  by  the 
hour ;  that  we  are  remembered,  and  that  we  are 
secured.  BEECHER. 

[143] 


Ye  have  need  of  patience.  —  Hebrews  10 :  36. 

THERE  are  many  trials  in  life  which  do  not 
seem  to  come  from  unwisdom  or  folly.  They 
are  silver  arrows  shot  from  the  bow  of  God,  and 
fixed  inextricably  in  the  quivering  heart.  They  are 
to  be  borne.  They  are  not  meant,  like  snow  on 
water,  to  melt  as  soon  as  they  strike.  But  the 
moment  an  ill  can  be  borne  patiently,  it  is  disarmed 
of  its  poison,  though  not  of  its  pain.  BEECHER. 

There  will  come  a  weary  day 
When,  overtaxed  at  length, 
Both  hope  and  love  beneath 
The  weight  give  way. 
Then  with  a  statue's  smile, 
A  statue's  strength, 
Patience,  nothing  loth, 
And  uncomplaining,  does 
The  work  of  both. 

PHILLIPS    BROOKS. 

We  have  very  little  command  over  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  may  be  called  by  God  to  do 
our  part,  but  unlimited  command  over  the  temper 

Of  Our  SOUls.  J.  H.  THOM. 

God  has  but  one  duty  at  a  time  for  any  child  of 
His  to  perform.     If  we  are  doing  the  one  duty  He 
has  for  us  to  do  at  the  present  moment,  that  is  all 
that  He  requires.     The  results  are  His. 
[144] 


I  therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you  that  ye  walk 
worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are  called.  —  Ephesians 
4:1. 

DO  not  dare  to  think  that  a  child  of  God  can 
worthily  work  out  his  career  or  worthily  serve 
God's  other  children  unless  he  does  both  in  the 
love  and  fear  of  God,  their  Father.  Be  sure  that 
ambition  and  charity  themselves  will  grow  mean 
unless  they  are  both  inspired  and  exalted  by  re- 
ligion. PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

What  Might  Be  Done. 

What  might  be  done  if  men  were  wise  — 
What  glorious  deeds,  my  suffering  brother, 
Would  they  unite, 
In  love  and  right, 
And  cease  their  scorn  of  one  another. 

Oppression's  heart  might  be  imbued 
With  kindling  drops  of  loving-kindness, 
And  knowledge  pour, 
From  shore  to  shore, 
Light  on  the  eyes  of  mental  darkness. 

The  meanest  wretch  that  ever  trod, 
The  deepest  sunk  in  guilt  and  sorrow, 

Might  stand  erect, 

In  self-respect, 
And  share  the  teeming  world  to-morrow. 

CHARLES   MACKAY. 
[145] 


Watch  therefore  ;  for  ye  know  not  what  hour  your  Lord  doth 
come.  —  S.  Matthew  24 :  42. 

What  of  the  Day  ? 

WHAT  of  the  day?     Do  you  ask? 
Then  assuredly  know 
That  the  day  which  began  weary  ages  ago 
Speeds  on  to  an  issue  sublime  ; 
And  the  King  —  whose  glad  coming  draws  hourly 

more  near  — 

Will,  haply,  when  least  you  expect  Him,  appear, 
And  the  blessed,  long-prayed-for  Sabbatical  year 
Usher  in,  in  the  fulness  of  time. 

Will  you  hasten  the  day? 

Will  you  labour  and  pray? 

Will  you  thrust  in  the  sickle  and  reap  while  you 

may, 

The  plenteous  harvests  that  lie 
Waiting  still  for  our  hand 
In  every  land, 

And  rip'ning  'neath  every  sky? 
Will  you  gather  the  stones  for  His  temple  divine  ? 
And  the  gems  in  the  crown  of  His  glory  to  shine 
Brighter  far  than  the  sun? 

And  then  when  He  comes,  bowing  low  at  His  feet, 
With  rapture  unspeakable  hear  Him  repeat, 
"  Well  done,  thou  good  servant,  well  done  ! " 

Four  things  come  not  back  :  the  spoken  word,  the 
sped  arrow,  the  past  life,  the  neglected  opportunity. 
[146] 


Be  patient  therefore,  brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
I  Peter  I  :  7. 

TO-MORROW   you   have   no   business   with. 
You   steal   if  you    touch   to-morrow.     It  is 
God's.     Every  day  has  in  it  enough  to  keep  every 
man  occupied,  without  concerning  himself  with  the 
things  which  lie  beyond.  BEECHER. 

Be  not  anxious  about  to-morrow.  Do  to-day's, 
fight  to-day's,  temptation ;  and  do  not  weaken  and 
distract  yourself  by  looking  forward  to  things  which 
you  cannot  see,  and  would  not  understand  if  you 
saw  them.  CHARLES  KINGSLEV. 

It  is  not  the  cares  of  to-day,  but  the  cares  of 
to-morrow,  that  weigh  a  man  down.  For  the  need 
of  to-day  we  have  a  corresponding  strength  given. 
For  the  to-morrow  we  are  told  to  trust.  It  is  not 
ours  yet,  and  it  may  never  be.  It  is  enough  to  be 
patient  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord  and  to  do  the 
work  of  the  present  hour.  GEORGE  MACDONALD. 

Thou,  who  hast  made  the  weakest  strong 

In  holy  trust  and  high  endeavor, 
And  taught  the  fainting  soul  to  sing, 

"  Thy  God  forsakes  the  righteous  never," 
On  Thee,  the  Rock,  Thy  people  rest, 

And  bear  unmoved  each  wave  of  sorrow, 
Knowing,  Who  giveth  present  good 

Will  strength  impart  for  each  to-morrow. 

MRS.   ANNA    M.    HUNTLEY. 
[147] 


/  am  a  burden  to  myself.  —  Job  7 :  20. 

THIS  is  sometimes  the  language  of  the  afflicted. 
Thus  it  was  the  exclamation  of  Job.  We 
talk  of  trouble.  He  could  say,  "  Behold,  and  see  if 
ever  there  was  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow."  If  we 
cannot  approve  of  the  strength  of  his  complaint, 
we  hardly  know  how  to  condemn  it.  God  Himself 
overlooks  it,  and  only  holds  him  forth  as  an  exam- 
ple of  patience.  .  .  .  Afflictions  may  be  great  in 
themselves  from  their  number  and  frequency,  and 
suddenness  and  subject.  But  yield  not  to  im- 
patience and  despondency.  Such  afflictions  have 
often  introduced  a  train  of  mercies,  and  the  valley 
of  Achor  has  been  a  door  of  hope.  How  many  in 
heaven,  how  many  on  earth,  are  now  thanking  God 
for  their  trials.  He  knows  how  to  deliver.  Say, 
"  Lord,  I  am  oppressed ;  undertake  for  me." 
"  Cast  thy  burden  upon  the  Lord,  and  He  shall 
sustain  thee."  WILLIAM  JAY. 

Faith,  patience,  love,  we  need  to  cultivate, 

Our  faint  hearts  are  so  ready  to  despair, 
So  prone  to  cry  the  burden  is  too  great 

For  us  to  bear. 
He  sends  the  bitter  who  has  sent  the  sweet, 

And  it  is  best, 
And  often  'tis  in  sorrow  and  defeat 

That  we  are  blessed. 

[148] 


Lord,  not  my  feet  only,  but  my  hands  and  my  head.  —  S. 
John  13:9. 

THE  secret  which  selfishness  never  masters 
is  this  of  the  joy  of  consecration.  In  self- 
devotion  for  king  or  cause,  those  who  would  lose 
their  life  have  found  it,  and  in  carelessness  of  them- 
selves have  gained  grace  and  renown.  But  no 
such  joy,  elsewhere  known  among  men,  has  risen 
to  the  pitch  of  his  or  hers  on  whom  the  vision  of 
Christ  has  shone.  Emancipation  from  all  defer- 
ence to  the  world  has  been  their  prerogative.  The 
hardest  and  bleakest  conditions  of  life  have  become 
to  them  as  jasper  walls  and  crystal  pavements. 
The  heart  dilates  now  with  equal  triumph,  while 
gathering  to  itself  divinest  quality,  whenever  de- 
voted in  a  similar  sense  to  the  King  of  the  World. 
And  he  now  feels  it  has  in  it  the  vital  and  sure 
presage  of  victory.  He  follows  the  banners  that 
never  go  down.  His  Leader  is  one  who  knows  no 
defeat. 

Take  my  life,  and  let  it  be 
Consecrated,  Lord,  to  Thee. 
Take  my  heart :  it  is  Thine  own; 
It  shall  be  Thy  royal  throne. 
Take  my  love  ;  my  Lord,  I  pour 
At  Thy  feet  its  treasure-store. 
Take  myself,  and  I  will  be 
Ever,  only,  ALL  for  Thee. 

HAVERGAL. 

[149] 


Let  those  that  trust  in  thee  rejoice.  —  Psalm  5:11. 

HAPPINESS,  according  to  the  laws  of  nature 
and  of  God,  inheres  in  voluntary  and  pleas- 
urable activities;  and  activity  increases  happiness 
in  proportion  as  it  is  diffusive.  No  man  can  be  so 
happy  as  he  who  is  engaged  in  a  regular  business 
that  tasks  the  greatest  part  of  his  mind.  I  had 
almost  said  that  it  was  the  beau-ideal  of  happiness 
for  a  man  to  be  so  busy  that  he  does  not  know 
whether  he  is  or  is  not  happy ;  who  has  not  time 
to  think  about  himself  at  all.  The  man  who  rises 
early  in  the  morning,  joyful  and  happy,  with  an 
appetite  for  business  as  well  as  for  breakfast ;  who 
has  a  love  for  his  work,  and  runs  eagerly  to  it  as  a 
child  runs  to  its  play ;  who  finds  himself  refreshed 
by  it  in  every  part  of  his  day,  and  rests  after  it  as 
from  a  wholesome  and  delightful  fatigue,  —  has  one 
great  and  very  essential  element  of  happiness. 

BEECHER. 

Take  joy  home, 

And  make  a  place  in  thy  great  heart  for  her, 
And  give  her  time  to  grow,  and  cherish  her, 
Then  will  she  come,  and  oft  will  sing  to  thee 
When  thou  art  working  in  the  furrows ;  aye, 
Or  weeding  in  the  sacred  hour  of  dawn. 

It  is  a  comely  fashion  to  be  glad ; 

Joy  is  the  grace  that  we  say  to  God. 

JEAN    INGELOW. 


And  thus  this  man  died,  leaving  his  death  for  an  example  of 
a  noble  courage,  and  a  memorial  of  virtue,  not  only  unto 
young  men,  but  unto  all  his  nation.  —  II  Maccabees  6:  31. 


IT  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the 
great  task  remaining  before  us,  that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that 
cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of 
devotion  ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ;  and  this  nation, 
under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and 
that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and 
for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth. 

ABRAHAM   LINCOLN   AT   GETTYSBURG. 


Thank  God  for  deeds  of  valor  done  ! 

Thank  God  for  victories  hardly  won  ! 
That  such  as  you  need  never  know 
The  anguish  of  those  dark  days  of  woe ; 

For  time  and  peace  old  wounds  have  healed, 

And  flowers  now  strew  the  battle-field. 

HELEN   HUNT. 


Abraham  Lincoln  —  for  them,  as  for  him,  char- 
acter decreed  a  life  and  a  death. 

PHILLIPS   BROOKS. 


Thy  will  be  done.  —  The  Lord's  Prayer. 

WHEN  the  loss  of  property  and  the  severance 
of  friendships  has  come,  when  the  future 
is  overcast,  and  we  know  nothing  of  what  is  before 
us  except  simply  this,  that  God's  will  must  be  clone, 
and  when  we  try  to  leave  all  to  Him,  the  endurance 
which  then  reveals  itself  is  the  masterful  power  of 
the  human  will.  Men  trained  in  this  experience 
cannot  be  frightened  nor  disheartened  by  troubles, 
however  great.  R.  s.  STORRS. 

Lord,  carry  me.  —  Nay,  but  I  grant  thee  strength 
To  walk  and  work  thy  way  to  heaven  at  length. 

Lord,  why  then  am  I  weak  ?  —  Because  I  give 
Power  to  the  weak,  and  bid  the  dying  live. 

Lord,  J  am  tired.  —  He  hath  not  much  desired 
The  goal,  who  at  the  starting-point  is  tired. 

Lord,  dost  Thou  know  ?  —  I  know  what  is  in  man  ; 
What  the  flesh  can,  and  what  the  spirit  can. 

Lord,  dost  Thou  care  ?  —  Yea,  for  thy  gain  or  loss 
So  much  I  cared,  it  brought  Me  to  the  cross. 

Lord,  I  believe  ;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief.  — 
Good  is  the  word;  but  rise,  for  life  is  brief. 
The  follower  is  not  greater  than  the  Chief; 
Follow  thou  Me  along  My  way  of  grief. 

CHRISTINA   ROSSETTI. 


eace 
be  aroond 


A  friend  lovcth  at  all  times.  —  Proverbs  17:  17. 

aY  friend  he  was  ;  my  friend  from  all  the  rest ; 
With  child -like  faith  he  oped  to  me  his  heart : 
No  door  was  locked  on  altar,  grave  or  grief; 
No  weakness  veiled,  concealed  no  disbelief; 
The  hope,  the  sorrow,  and  the  wrong  were  bare, 
And  oh,  the  shadow  only  showed  the  fair  ! 

I  gave  him  love  for  love ;  but  deep  within, 
I  magnified  each  frailty  into  sin ; 
He  smiled  upon  the  censorship,  and  bore 
With  patient  love  the  touch  that  wounded  sore ; 
Until  at  length,  so  had  my  blindness  grown, 
He  knew  I  judged  him  by  his  faults  alone. 

At  last  it  came  —  the  day  he  stood  apart, 

When  from  my  eyes  he  proudly  veiled  his  heart  .  .  . 

When  in  his  face  I  read  what  I  had  been 

And  with  his  vision  saw  what  I  had  seen. 

Too  late  !    too  late  !    O,  could  he  then  have  known 

When  his  love  died  that  mine  had  perfect  grown ; 

And  when  the  veil  was  drawn,  abused,  chastised, 

The  censor  stood,  the  lost  one  truly  prized. 

Too  late  we  learn  that  man  must  hold  his  friend 

Unjudged,  accepted,  faultless  to  the  end. 

JOHN    BOYLE   O'REILLY. 
[153] 


Uune 


Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  spirit 
of  God  diuellcth  in  you.  —  I  Corinthians  3:  1  6. 

SLOWLY  through  all  the  universe,  that  temple 
of  God  is  being  built.  Wherever,  in  any 
world,  a  soul,  by  free-willed  obedience,  catches  the 
fire  of  God's  likeness,  it  is  set  into  the  growing 
wall  a  living  stone.  When  in  your  hard  fight,  your 
tiresome  drudgery,  or  in  your  terrible  temptation, 
you  catch  the  purpose  of  your  being,  and  give  your- 
self to  God,  and  so  give  Him  the  chance  to  give 
Himself  to  you,  your  life,  a  living  stone,  is  taken 
up  and  set  into  that  growing  wall.  .  .  .  Wherever 
souls  are  being  tried  and  ripened,  in  whatever  com- 
monplace and  homely  ways  ;  —  there  God  is  hew- 
ing out  the  pillars  for  His  temple.  Oh,  if  the  stone 
can  only  have  some  vision  of  the  temple  of  which 
it  is  to  lie  a  part  forever,  what  patience  must  fill  it 
as  it  feels  the  blows  of  the  hammer,  and  knows 
that  success  for  it  is  simply  to  let  itself  be  wrought 
into  what  shape  the  Master  wills. 

PHILLIPS   BROOKS. 

Blessed  is  any  weight,  however  overwhelming, 
which  God  has  been  so  good  as  to  fasten  with  His 
own  hands  upon  our  shoulders.  FABER. 

If  only  dear  to  God  the  strong 

That  never  trip  nor  wander, 
Where  were  the  throng  whose  morning  song 

Thrills  His  blue  arches  yonder?  LOWELL. 


9|une 


SIGH  and  grieve  that  you  are  so  carnal  and 
worldly,  and  your  passions  so  unmortified. 

That  you  are  so  full  of  corrupt  inclinations,  so 
unguarded  in  your  outward  senses,  so  often  ensnared 
by  many  vain  imaginations. 

So  much  inclined  to  outward  things,  so  negligent 
as  to  inward. 

So  ready  for  laughter  and  dissipation,  so  unready 
for  weeping  and  compunction. 

So  prompt  for  relaxation  and  bodily  comfort,  so 
disinclined  for  austerity  and  fervor. 

So  curious  to  hear  news  and  see  fine  sights,  so 
slack  to  embrace  what  is  lowly  and  common. 

So  eager  to  have  much,  so  sparing  in  giving,  so 
close  in  retaining. 

So  inconsiderate  in  speech,  so  unable  to  keep 
silence,  so  undisciplined  in  manners,  so  impetuous 
in  actions. 

So  hasty  to  take  rest,  so  slow  to  labor. 

So  wakeful  to  attend  to  stories,  so  sleepy  at  holy 
vigils. 

So  anxious  to  finish  devotions,  so  wandering  in 
attention. 

So  soon  distracted,  so  rarely  fully  collected. 

So  suddenly  stirred  to  anger,  so  apt  to  take 
offence. 

So  often  making  good  resolutions,  so  seldom 
bringing  them  to  good  effect. 

THOMAS   A    KEMPIS. 

[155] 


3Iune 

jfourtl)  2E>ai? 

Take  heed  to  your  spirit.  — Malachi  II  :  15. 

THFRE  is  no  situation  which  we  cannot 
sweeten  or  embitter  at  will.  If  the  past 
is  gloomy,  there  is  no  need  of  dwelling  upon  it.  If 
the  mind  can  make  one  vigorous  exertion,  it  can 
another.  The  same  energy  you  put  forth  in  acquir- 
ing knowledge  would  enable  you  also  to  baffle  mis- 
fortune. Determine  not  to  think  of  what  is  pain- 
ful, resolutely  turn  away  from  vexatious  subjects, 
bend  all  your  attention  to  more  elevating  interests, 
and  then  you  defeat  the  woes  of  the  past.  It  is  for 
the  future  and  in  the  future  that  we  live. 

Strength  of  character  is  not  mere  strength  of 
feeling ;  it  is  the  resolute  restraint  of  strong  feeling. 
It  is  unyielding  resistance  to  whatever  would  dis- 
concert us  from  without  or  unsettle  us  from  within. 

DICKENS. 

A  man's  house  should  be  on  the  hill-top  of  cheer- 
fulness and  serenity,  so  high  that  no  shadows  rest 
upon  it,  and  where  the  morning  comes  so  early  that 
the  day  has  twice  as  many  golden  hours  as  those  of 
other  men.  He  is  to  be  pitied  whose  house  is  in 
some  valley  of  grief  between  the  hills,  with  the 
longest  night  and  the  shortest  day.  Home  should 
be  the  centre  of  joy,  equatorial  and  tropical. 

BEECHER. 

[156] 


31uue 


jfiftl) 


Be  ye  doers  of  the  word  and  not  hearers  only.  —  S.  James 
I  :  22. 

O  PATIENT,  willing  doers  of  the  word  - 
Who  worship  tireless  at  the  Master's  shrine, 
With  hearts  that  gentle  charity  has  stirred 

To  acts  and  deeds  of  pity  half  divine  — 
O  blessed,  faithful  children  of  the  King, 

To  whom  the  Saviour's  shield  of  faith  is  given, 
Full  many  a  golden  sheaf  your  arm  shall  bring 
When  all  the  reapers  gather  home  in  heaven  ! 

IDA   SCOTT  TAYLOR. 

We  must  love  the  Lord  if  we  would  learn  to 
serve  Him  and  win  others  to  Him. 

WILLIAM   ORMISTON. 

Do  something  in  this  busy,  bustling,  wide-awake 
world.  Move  about  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  if 
not  for  yourselves.  JOHN  B.  GOUGH. 

Better  a  day  of  strife 

Than  a  century  of  sleep.         RYAN. 

I  count  this  thing  to  be  grandly  true  : 

That  a  noble  deed  is  a  step  toward  God, 
Lifting  the  soul  from  the  common  sod 

To  a  purer  air  and  a  broader  view. 

HOLLAND. 

Cast  forth  thy  act,  thy  word,  into  the  ever-living, 
ever-workin  universe.  CARLYLE. 


3|une 


As  the  duty  of  every  day  required.  —  2  Chronicles  8  :  14. 

THE  heroes  of  the  race  shrank  doubtless  from 
their  work  as  you  are  shrinking  now  from 
yours,  —  from  a  sense  of  unfitness. 

At  length,  unable  longer  to  res'ist  the  call  of  duty, 
"each  forgot  his  weakness  and  went  and  worked 
his  fragment."  So  for  each  of  us  the  duty  waits. 
Our  deed  may  not  seem  worth  the  doing,  because 
so  small.  But  it  is  our  "  fragment  "  and  must  be 
done  ;  and  no  one  else  can  do  it  for  us.  Let  not 
life,  then,  be  frittered  away  in  vacillation  and  weak 
compliances,  "  like  those  meagre  streamlets  which 
seem  to  lose  their  way  at  every  new  impediment, 
forever  turning  backward  or  turning  around  ;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  emulate  the  headlong  mountain 
torrent,  boisterous  and  destructive."  Let  the  ideal 
of  your  strength  rather  be  that  of  the  ocean,  which, 
as  one  finely  observes  in  the  calmest  hour,  still 
heaves  its  resistless  might  of  waters  to  the  shore 
with  an  imperial  consciousness  of  strength  that 
laughs  at  opposition. 


Practise  thy  spirit  to  great  thoughts  and  things  ; 

We  can  foretell  the  future  of  ourselves, 

And  fateful  only  to  himself  is  each." 

• 

WILLIAM   J.  TILLEY. 


31une 


Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat  and  the  body  than  raiment?  — 
S.  Matthew  6:  25. 

IF  a  man's  mind  be  thoroughly  alive,  he  cannot 
be  content  with  good  health,  good  revenue,  and 
good  dwelling.  There  are  heart-achings  and  out- 
goings which  waste  the  life,  which  cannot  be  soothed 
or  appeased  by  bread  alone.  On  the  one  hand  you 
find  sad  hearts  surrounded  by  the  highest  personal 
and  social  advantages,  and  on  the  other  you  will 
find  hearts  glad  with  unspeakable  joy  in  spite  of 
circumstances  the  most  untoward  and  harassing. 
It  is  therefore,  in  the  opinion  of  Christian  thinkers, 
a  superficial  and  mocking  theory  of  human  happi- 
ness which  concerns  itself  mainly  with  circum- 
stances. What  is  wanted  is  a  principle  which  will 
put  all  accidental  conditions  in  their  right  place, 
and  persistently  remind  man  that  "  the  life  is  more 
than  bread,"  and  that  apparent  failure  may  be  real 

SUCCeSS.  JOSEPH    PARKER. 

It  is  God  who  prepares  men  when  He  intends 
to  use  them,  and  who  gives  them  just  what  they 
require  for  their  work,  and  that  by  a  marvellous 
succession  of  events,  the  connection  of  which  can 
only  be  seen-  when  we  examine  the  whole  chain. 
As  I  glance  over  my  own  life,  from  whatever  side,  I 
view  it  all  converging  to  the  point  where  I  now 
stand.  LACORDAIRE. 


31ime 


Happy  shall  thou  be.  —  Psalm  12$:  2. 

HAPPY  is  the  man  who  has  that  in  his  soul 
which  acts  upon  the  dejected  as  April  show- 
ers upon  violet  roots.  Gifts  from  the  hand  are  sil- 
ver and  gold  ;  but  the  heart  gives  that  which  neither 
silver  nor  gold  can  buy.  To  be  full  of  goodness, 
to  be  full  of  cheerfulness,  full  of  hope,  full  of  sym- 
pathy, causes  a  man  to  carry  blessings  of  which  he 
himself  is  as  unconscious  as  a  lamp  of  its  own 
shining.  Such  an  one  moves  on  human  life  like  as 
stars  move  on  dark  seas  to  bewildered  mariners  ;  as 
the  sun  wheels,  bringing  all  the  seasons  with  him 
from  the  south.  BEECHER. 

Forget  the  past,  and  live  the  present  hour  ; 

Now  is  the  time  to  work,  the  time  to  fill 

The  soul  with  noblest  thought,  the  time  to  will 
Heroic  deeds,  to  use  whatever  dower 
Heaven  has  bestowed,  to  test  our  utmost  power. 

Now  is  the  time  to  love,  and  better  still, 

To  serve  our  loved  ones  ;  over  passing  ill 
To  rise  triumphant.     Thus  the  perfect  flower 

Of  life  shall  come  to  fruitage  ;  wealth  amass 
For  grandest  giving  ere  the  time  is  gone. 

Be  glad  to-day,  to-morrow  may  bring  tears  ; 

Be  brave  to-day,  the  darkest  night  will  pass, 
And  golden  rays  will  usher  in  the  dawn  ; 

Who  conquers  now  shall  rule  the  coming  years. 

SARAH    K.  BOLTON. 
[160] 


I  -will  not  forsake  my  people. —  I  Kings  6:  13. 

I  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee.  —  Isaiah  41  :  17. 

Forsake  Me  Not. 

FORSAKE  me  not,  though  fast  the  night  is  falling 
And  shadows  gather  in  the  darkened  sky. 
I  cannot  fear,  when  Thou,  O  God,  art  calling, 
I  cannot  fall  when  Thy  kind  arms  are  nigh. 
Stay  Thou  with  me  !  be  Thou  my  refuge  ever, 
My  strength,  my  all  —  whatever  be  my  lot ! 
Oh,  bless  me  with  Thy  gracious  love  forever, 
And  in  the  gloom  of  night  forsake  me  not ! 

Forsake  me  not  in  time  of  tribulation, 

Be  Thou  my  Rock  and  Fortress  in  despair ; 
Oh,  fill  my  burdened  soul  with  Thy  salvation, 

And  pour  Thy  spirit's  balm  on  all  my  care. 
Though  sorrows  break  my  heart,  O  gracious  Father, 

Thy  rod  and  staff  can  comfort  my  distress  ! 
Though  grief  oppress,  and  heavy  tear-drops  gather, 

Thy  pitying  love  can  bring  me  sweet  redress. 

Forsake  me  not !  breathe  Thou  into  my  being 

The  very  breath  of  heaven  from  above  ; 
Unseal  my  eyes,  that  I  Thy  goodness  seeing 

May  know  and  feel  Thy  deep,  Thy  boundless  love. 
In  storm  or  calm,  be  Thou,  O  God,  beside  me  — 

That  I,  Thy  child,  may  never  be  forgot ; 
Through  shade  or  sun,  by  day  or  night-time  guide  me 

Through  all  my  journey,  oh,  forsake  me  not ! 

IDA   SCOTT   TAYLOR. 
[161] 


Ponder  the  path  of  thy  feet.  —  Proverbs  15  :  26. 

AMONG  the  pitfalls  in  our  way, 
The  best  of  us  walk  blindly ; 
So,  man,  be  wary,  watch  and  pray, 
And  judge  your  brother  kindly. 

ALICE  GARY. 

We  are  all  wicked ;  what  one  of  us  blames  in 
another  each  will  find  in  his  own  breast. 

SENECA. 

Into  the  path  of  sin 
One  step  may  take  you, 
For  wrong  lies  near 
To  the  path  of  right ; 
.   But  lower  down 
From  right  to  wrong, 
The  way  descends ; 
But  back  again  to  right 
Tis  steep  and  rugged. 

How  often  do  we  confess  the  same  sins  and  pray 
against  them,  and  yet  still  commit  them  as  much 
as  ever,  and  lie  as  deeply  under  the  power  of  them  ! 
We  raise  a  great  deal  of  dust  under  our  feet,  but  we 
do  not  move  from  off  the  ground  on  which  we  stood. 
We  do  not  go  forward  at  all.  We  do,  and  undo. 
We  weave  sometimes  a  web  of  holiness,  but  we  let 
evil  and  thoughtless  purposes  in,  and  unravel  all 
again.  Nothing  but  the  grace  of  God  can  save 
us  from  sin. 

[162] 


3[wte 


He  chasteneth  us  for  our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of 
his  holiness.  —  Hebrews  12  :  10. 

OWHAT  will  that  joy  be,  where  the  soul,  being 
perfectly  prepared  for  joy,  and  joy  prepared 
by  Christ  for  the  soul,  it  shall  be  our  business  eter- 
nally to  rejoice  !  WILLIAM  j.  TILLEY. 

A  Husk. 
I  take  it  in  my  hand, 

A  form  whose  use  is  o'er, 
Cast  off  by  the  ripe  soul 

That  needed  it  no  more. 

A  withered,  worthless  thing, 

The  mocking  whirlwind's  scorn  — 

Would  God  have  cared  to  fashion  it 
Except  to  shield  the  corn? 

MARY   F.  BUTTS. 

Then  shall  a  new,  a  spirit  childhood  come, 

A  fresher  sense  of  life  in  thee  have  room  ! 

A  life  that  knows  no  pain,  no  death,  no  tomb  ! 

There    sight    shall    know  what    faith   hath    first 
believed, 

There  perfect  trust  thy  heart  hath  not  conceived, 
There  saddening  thoughts  be  gone,  thy  mind  here 
grieved  ! 

Then  for  the  work,  my  soul,  that  waits  thee  there, 

A  firm,  bold  heart,  within  thee  bear, 
Undimmed  by  painful  thoughts,  unbowed  by  care. 

WILLIAM   J.  TILLEY. 
[163] 


Follow  that  which  is  good.  —  i  Thessalonians  5:15. 

/^OODNESS  is  the  only  orthodoxy  that  God 
V^JT  cares  one  particle  about,  and  every  man  that 
is  living  the  Christ-life  is  orthodox  —  doctrine  go 
to  the  winds.  If  you  ask  me  if  some  representa- 
tions of  truth  are  not  more  likely  to  produce  this 
than  others,  Yes ;  and  therefore  it  is  important  that 
men  should  study  to  be  true  according  to  the  test 
of  Scripture.  But  so  long  as  that  blazing  centre  re- 
mains, "  I  am  determined  to  know  nothing  but  Christ, 
and  Him  crucified  "  —  because  He  represented  the 
God  of  love  who  suffered  for  all  the  universe  and 
all  it  contains  —  so  long  as  that  is  the  grand  ideal 
of  life,  it  is  nonsense  for  the  man  that  does  not 
pattern  after  that,  to  pattern  after  the  intellectual 
elements  of  it,  or  the  mere  auxiliary  institutions. 
But  if  he  has  both  he  is  doubly  blest.  BEECHER. 

Tis  only  noble  to  be  good. 

• 

Count  not  thy  life  by  calendars  ;  for  years 
Shall  pass  by  thee  unheeded,  whilst  an  hour  — 
Some  little  fleeting  hour,  too  quickly  past  — 
May  stamp  itself  so  deeply  on  thy  brain, 
Thy  latest  years  shall  live  upon  its  joy. 

KENNEDY. 

If  the  heart  be  right  with  God,  He  will  weigh 
the  rest  in  a  balance  of  compassion. 

CARDFNAL   MANNING. 
[164] 


Thou  shalt  abide  for  me.  —  Hosea  3:  3. 


my  life  !  "  We  have  said  it  or  sung  it 
before  the  Lord,  it  may  be  many  times  ; 
but  if  it  were  only  whispered  but  once  in  His  ear 
with  full  purpose  of  heart,  should  we  not  believe 
that  He  heard  it?  And  if  we  know  that  He  heard 
it,  should  we  not  believe  that  He  has  answered  it, 
and  fulfilled  this,  our  heart's  desire?  For  with 
Him  hearing  means  heeding.  Then  why  should 
we  doubt  that  He  did  verily  take  our  lives  when  we 
offered  them  —  our  bodies  when  we  presented 
them  ?  Have  we  not  been  wronging  His  faithful- 
ness all  this  time  by  practically,  even  unconsciously, 
doubting  whether  the  prayer  ever  reached  Him? 
And  if  so,  is  it  any  wonder  that  we  have  not 
realized  all  the  power  and  joy  of  full  consecration? 
By  some  means  or  other  He  has  to  teach  us  to 
trust  implicitly  every  step  of  the  way.  And  so,  if 
we  do  not  really  trust  in  this  matter,  He  has  had 
to  let  us  find  out  our  want  of  trust  by  withholding 
the  sensible  part  of  the  blessing,  and  thus  stirring 
us  up  to  find  out  why  it  is  withheld. 

An  offered  gift  must  be  either  accepted  or  re- 
fused. Can  He  have  refused  it  when  He  has  said, 
"  Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out  "  ?  If  not,  then  it  must  have  been  accepted. 


[165] 


Slime 

ifourteenti)  Dap 

Your  father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of.  —  S.  Mat- 
thew 6 : 8. 

He  Knows. 

HUSH,  child  !  doth  not  thy  Heavenly  Father 
know  ? 

Love  causelessly  would  never  wound  thee  So. 
Sometimes  the  chastened  lean  upon  His  breast, 
And,  sobbing,  find  themselves  more  closely  pressed. 

Hereafter  thou  shall  better  understand 
What  discipline  was  needed  from  His  hand. 
Be  patient,  then,  and  to  His  will  resigned, 
And  thou  shall  be  more  Christ-like  and  refined. 

Implicil  Irusl  is  thine,  but  He  imparts 

His  fulness  only  unto  emptied  hearts ; 

Who  asks  His  love  will  in  return  receive 

Far  more  than  tongue  can  tell,  or  thought  conceive. 

Then  give  Him  children,  home,  thy  weight  of  care  ; 
They  are  too  heavy  for  ihy  slrenglh  to  bear. 
The  pitying  Father  will  thy  fears  relieve, 
And  bind  the  wounds  His  children  must  receive. 

MRS.  ANNA    M.   HUNTLEY. 

My  son,  suffer  me  to  do  wilh  thee  what  I  please. 
I  know  what  is  expedient  for  thee.  Thou  thinkest 
as  man ;  thou  judgest  in  many  things  as  human 
affection  persuadeth  thee. 

THOMAS   A    KEMPIS. 
[166] 


jfiftecnti) 

Take  my  yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me  ;  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  — 
S.  Matthew  1 1 :  29. 

HRIST'S  invitation  is  a  call  to  begin  life  over 
again  upon  a  new  principle  —  upon  His  own 
principle.  "  Watch  my  way  of  doing  things,"  He 
says.  "  Follow  me.  Take  life  as  I  take  it.  Be 
meek  and  lowly  and  you  will  find  rest."  .  .  . 
Christ's  life  outwardly  was  one  of  the  most  troubled 
lives  ever  lived  :  tempest  and  tumult,  tumult  and 
tempest,  the  waves  breaking  over  it  all  the  time 
till  the  worn  body  was  laid  in  the  grave.  But  the 
inner  life  was  a  sea  of  glass.  The  great  calm  was 
always  there.  At  any  moment  you  might  have 
gone  to  Him  and  found  rest.  And  even  when  the 
bloodhounds  were  dogging  Him  in  the  streets  of 
Jerusalem,  He  turned  to  His  disciples  and  offered 
them,  as  a  last  legacy,  "  My  peace."  Nothing  ever 
for  a  moment  broke  the  serenity  of  Christ's  life 
on  earth. 

There  was  nothing  that  the  world  could  do  to 
Him,  that  could  ripple  the  surface  of  His  spirit. 
Such  living,  as  mere  living,  is  altogether  unique. 
It  is  the  mind  at  leisure  from  itself.  It  is  the 
perfect  poise  of  the  soul ;  the  stability  of  assured 
convictions ;  the  eternal  calm  of  an  invulnerable 
faith ;  the  repose  of  a  heart  set  deep  in  God. 
It  is  the  mood  of  the  man  who  says,  with  Browning, 
"  God's  in  His  heaven,  all's  well  with  the  world." 

HENRY   DRUMMOND. 
[167] 


31une 


My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth :  but  God  is  the  strength  of  my 
heart,  and  my  portion  forever.  —  Psalm  73 :  26. 

THERE  are  heart  sicknesses  known  to  earth 
more  real  and  distressing  than  any  physical 
malady.  Times  there  are  in  each  human  life 
when  the  sharp  sword  pierces  to  the  very  centre 
of  the  soul.  Speaking  after  the  manner  of  this 
world,  the  agony  seems  greater  than  can  be  borne. 
What  then?  Shall  we  sink  down  in  despair?  No. 
There  is  a  better  way.  Summon  thy  soul  to  new 
courage,  and  patience.  Say  to  thy  soul  within 
the  thick  shadows,  even  where  no  light  enters, 
"  My  soul,  wait  thou  only  upon  God." 

SPURGEON. 

Pain's  furnace  heat  within  me  quivers, 
God's  breath  upon  the  flame  doth  blow, 

And  all  my  heart  in  anguish  shivers, 
And  trembles  at  the  fiery  glow ; 

And  yet  I  whisper :  As  God  will ! 

And  in  His  hottest  fire  hold  still. 

Why  should  I  murmur?     For  the  sorrow 
Thus  only  longer  lived  would  be  ; 

Its  end  may  come,  and  will,  to-morrow, 
When  God  has  done  His  work  in  me  ; 

So  I  say,  trusting :  As  God  will ! 

And,  trusting  to  the  end,  hold  still. 

FROM   THE   GERMAN. 
[168] 


Rules  for  Making  Sunshine. 

WHEN  you  rise  in  the  morning,  form  a.  reso- 
lution to  make  the  day  a  happy  one  to  a 
fellow-creature.  It  is  easily  done ;  a  left-off  gar- 
ment to  the  man  who  needs  it,  a  kind  word  to  the 
sorrowful,  an  encouraging  expression  to  the  striving, 
trifles  in  themselves  light  as  air,  will  do  it,  at  least 
for  the  twenty- four  hours ;  and  if  you  are  young, 
depend  upon  it,  it  will  tell  when  you  are  old ;  and 
if  you  are  old,  it  will  send  you  gently  and  happily 
down  the  stream  of  human  time  to  eternity.  By 
the  most  simple  arithmetical  sum,  look  at  the  result; 
you  send  one  person,  only  one,  happily  through 
the  day,  —  that  is  three  hundred  and  sixty- five 
during  the  course  of  the  year ;  and  suppose  you 
live  only  forty  years  after  you  commence  that  of 
medicine,  you  have  made  fourteen  thousand  six 
hundred  human  beings  happy,  at  all  events  for 
a  time.  Now  is  not  this  simple  ?  It  is  too  short 
for  a  sermon,  too  homely  for  ethics,  too  easily 
accomplished  for  you  to  say,  "  I  would  if  I  could." 

SYDNEY   SMITH. 

Be  like  the  bird,  that,  halting  in  her  flight 

Awhile  on  boughs  too  slight, 
Feels  them  give  way  beneath  her  and  yet  sings, 
Knowing  that  she  hath  wings. 

VICTOR  HUGO. 


[169] 


3)une 


Be  sober,  be  vigilant.  —  I  Peter  5  :  8. 

The  prudent  man  looketh  well  to  his  own  going.  —  Proverbs 

14:  10. 


K 


EEP  at  some  work  of  usefulness. 


We  forge  our  own  fetters. 

To  thine  own  self  be  true.  SHAKSPEARE. 

The  worst  things  are  the  perversion  of  good 
things.  Abused  intellectual  gifts  make  the  danger- 
ous villain  ;  abused  sensibilities  make  the  accom- 
plished tempter.  F.  w.  ROBERTSON. 

The  lost  days  of  my  life  until  to-day, 

What  were  they ;   could  I  see  them  on  the  street 
Lie  as  they  fell  ?     Would  they  be  ears  of  wheat 

Sown  once  for  food  but  trodden  into  clay  ? 

Or  golden  coins  squander'd  and  still  to  pay  ? 

Or  drops  of  blood  dabbling  the  guilty  feet? 

Or  such  spilt  waters  as  in  dreams  must  cheat 
The  undying  throats  of  Hell,  a  thirst  alway? 

I  do  not  see  them  here ;  but  after  death 

God  knows  I  know  the  faces  I  shall  see, 
Each  one  a  murdered  self,  with  low  last  breath. 

"  I  am  thyself,  —  what  hast  thou  done  to  me  ? 

And  I  —  and  I  —  thyself  "  lo  !  each  one  saith, 
And  thou  thyself  to  all  —  eternity. 

D.  G.  ROSSETTI. 

[170] 


3!utte 


Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols.  —  i  John  5  :  21. 


T 


O  make  idols,  and  find  them  clay 
And  to  bewail  their  worship.    Therefore  pray. 

FELICIA   HEMANS. 

Two  Lost  Heroes. 


And  so  Death  took  your  hero, 
How  kind  to  you  was  Fate  ! 
For  Death  but  crystallizes  Life, 

And  you  need  only  wait. 

Death  keeps  him,  dear,  safe  from  all  tainting  touch, 
I,  in  your  place,  could  scarcely  weep  so  much. 

For,  I,  too,  lost  my  hero. 

Would  God  it  were  by  Death  ! 
Would  God  that  he  were  sainted, 
That  I  might  spend  my  breath 
In  praying  to  heaven  to  make  my  deeds  so  sweet 
That  he  might  welcome  me  when  we  should  meet ! 

Alas,  alas,  my  hero  ! 

How  often  we  bow  down, 
Deceived,  to  crown  a  coward  king 

And  deify  a  clown  ! 

Pass  on ;  compared  to  me  you  know  not  grief. 
You  have  lost  him,  but  I  have  lost  Belief. 

ANNE   REEVE   ALDRICH. 
[171] 


Hum 


For  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  ; 
that  every  one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body, 
according  to  that  he  hath  done,  -whether  it  be  good  or  bad.  — 
2  Corinthians  5  :  10. 

PERHAPS  it  may  have  been  little  thought  of, 
in  the  days  of  careless  unconcern,  which  you 
have  spent  hitherto  ;  but  I  call  upon  you  to  think 
of  it  now  ;  to  lay  it  to  heart  ;  and  no  longer  delay 
when  the  high  waters  of  death  and  judgments  and 
eternity  are  thus  set  before  you.  It  is  my  prayer 
to  carry  you  beyond  the  regions  of  sight  and  sense, 
to  the  regions  of  faith,  and  to  assure  you  in  the 
name  of  Him  who  cannot  lie,  that  as  sure  as 
the  hour  for  the  laying  of  the  body  in  the  grave 
comes,  so  surely  will  also  come  the  hour  of  the 
spirit  returning  to  Him  who  gave  it.  Yes,  the  day 
of  final  reckoning  will  come,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  Son  of  God  in  the  heaven,  and  the  opening 
of  the  books  will  come,  and  the  standing  of  men 
of  all  generations  before  the  judgment-seat  will 
come,  and  the  solemn  passing  of  that  sentence 
which  is  to  fix  your  destiny  for  eternity,  will  come. 

CHALMERS. 

And  I  know  of  the  future  judgment, 

How  dreadful  soe'er  it  be, 
That  to  sit  alone  with  my  conscience 

Will  be  judgment  enough  for  me. 


[172] 


3!ime 


We  ought  to  love  one  another.  —  S.  John  4:11. 

THE  world  is  full  of  love  that  is  not  much 
better  than  no  love  at  all.  The  fuel  of  the 
stove  makes  the  room  warm,  but  there  are  great 
piles  of  trees  among  the  rocks  on  the  top  of  the 
hill,  where  nobody  can  get  them ;  but  these  do 
not  make  anybody  warm.  Just  so  in  family,  love 
makes  the  parents  and  children,  the  brothers  and 
sisters,  happy ;  but  if  they  take  care  never  to  say 
a  word  about  it,  as  if  it  were  a  crime,  they  will 
not  be  much  happier  than  as  if  there  was  no  love 
among  them ;  the  house  will  seem  cold  even  in 
summer. 

We  long  for  tenderness  like  that  which  hung 

About  us,  lying  on  our  mother's  breast ; 
A  selfish  feeling  that  no  pen  or  tongue 

Can  praise  aright,  since  silence  sings  its  best. 
A  love,  as  far  removed  from  passion's  heat 

As  from  the  chillness  of  its  dying  fire ; 
A  love  to  lean  on  when  the  failing  feet 

Begin  to  totter  and  the  eyes  to  tire. 
In  youth's  brief  heyday  hottest  love  we  seek, 

The  reddest  rose  we  grasp  —  but  when  it  dies 
God  grant  the  latter  blossoms,  violets  meek, 

May  spring  for  us  beneath  life's  autumn  skies. 
God  grant  some  loving  one  be  near  to  bless 
Our  weary  way  with  simple  tenderness. 

ALL   THE   YEAR   ROUND. 
[173] 


31um 


He  that  rusteth  in  his  riches  shall  fall ;   but  the  righteous 

shall  flourish  as  a  branch.  —  Proverbs  1 1  :  28. 

Contentment  with  godliness  is  great  gain.  —  i  Timothy  6 :  6. 

They  that  will  be  rich  fall  into  temptation. —  I  Timothy  6 : 9. 

/  was  a  father  to  the  poor.  —  Job  29 :  16. 

Both  low  and  high,  rich  and  poor  together. —  Psalm  49:  2. 

The  cares  of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness  <tf  riches.  —  S. 

Mark  4:  19. 

The  rich  he  hath  sent  empty  away.  —  S.  Luke  1 :  53. 

LET  us  learn  to  be  content  with  what  we  have, 
with  the  place  we  have  in  life.  Let  us  get 
rid  of  our  false  estimates,  let  us  throw  down  the 
god  Money  from  its  pedestal,  trample  that  sense- 
less idol  under  foot,  set  up  all  the  higher  ideals  — 
a  neat  home,  vines  of .  our  own  planting,  a  few 
books  full  of  the  inspiration  of  genius,  a  few  friends 
worthy  of  being  loved,  and  able  to  love  in  turn ; 
a  hundred  innocent  pleasures  that  bring  no  pain 
or  remorse,  a  devotion  to  the  right  that  will  never 
swerve,  a  simple  religion  empty  of  all  bigotry,  full 
of  trust  and  hope  and  love,  and  to  such  a  philoso- 
phy this  world  will  give  up  all  the  joy  it  has. 

Wealth  has  now  all  the  respect  paid  to  it  which 
is  due  only  to  virtue  and  to  talent,  but  we  can  see 
what  estimate  God  puts  upon  it,  since  He  often 
bestows  it  upon  the  meanest  and  most  unworthy 
of  all  His  creatures.  swirr. 

[174] 


3!wne 


To  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
abundance,  but  from  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away 
even  that  -which  he  hath.  —  S.  Matthew  25  :  29. 

THE  heart  dwindles  in  contact  with  small  things 
and  narrow  interests  ;  but  when  brought  into 
harmony  with  great  ideas,  striving  for  great  ends, 
with  strong  feeling  excited  and  pouring  upon  the 
altar  of  success  the  most  costly  and  precious  sacri- 
fices, then  the  human  heart,  developing  the  germ 
of  its  immortal  nature,  rises  to  the  height  of  the 
loftiest  ideas,  and  enlarges  to  the  compass  of 
the  broadest  principles.  GEORGE  M.  ROBESON. 

It  was  the  martyr  who  saw  "  the  heavens  open 
and  the  Son  of  God  standing  on  the  right  hand 
of  God."  It  is  when  we  have  borne  submissively 
some  dreadful  sorrow  that  we  see  the  golden  ladder 
reaching  upward,  as  did  Perpetua  from  the  dark- 
ness of  the  dungeon ;  when  we  have  given  our- 
selves to  some  great  work  and  wrought  it,  by  God's 
help  and  the  inspiration  of  His  spirit,  triumphantly 
to  the  end,  —  that  the  vision  is  granted  us. 

R.  s.  STORRS. 

Build  up  heroic  lives,  and  all 

Be  like  a  sheathen  sabre, 
Ready  to  flash  out  at  God's  call, 

O  chivalry  of  labor  ! 

GERALD   MASSEY. 
[175] 


31une 


He  is  their  strength.  —  Psalm  37  :  39. 

I  WOULD  present  true  sainthood  to  you  as  the 
strong  chain  of  God's  presence  in  humanity 
running  down  through  all  history,  and  making  of 
it  a  unity,  giving  it  a  large  and  massive  strength 
able  to  bear  great  things  and  to  do  great  things 
too.  The  unity  which  the  line  of  sainthood  gives 
to  history  is  the  great  point  that  shows  its  strength. 

PHILLIPS   BROOKS. 

But  all  through  life  I  see  a  cross, 

Where  sons  of  God  yield  up  their  breath  ; 
There  is  no  gain  except  by  loss, 

There  is  no  life  except  by  death, 

There  is  no  vision  but  by  faith, 
No  glory  but  by  bearing  shame, 
No  justice  but  by  taking  blame  ; 

And  that  Eternal  Passion  saith, 
Be  emptied  of  glory  and  right  and  name. 

OLRIG   GRANGE. 

The  highest  of  us  is  but  a  sentry  at  his  post. 

WHVTE   MELVILLE. 

Dome  up,  O  heaven  !  yet  higher  o'er  my  head  ! 
Back  !  back,  horizon  !  widen  out  my  world  ! 
Rush  in,  O  Infinite  sea  of  the  Unknown, 
For  though  He  slay  me  I  will  trust  in  God. 

GEORGE   MACDONALD. 
[176] 


31ime 


These  things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love  one  another.  — 
S.  John  15:  17. 

IS  it  worth  while  that  we  jostle  a  brother 
Bearing  his  load  on  the  rough  road  of  life  ? 
Is  it  worth  while  that  we  jeer  at  each  other 

In  blackness  of  heart  ?  that  we  war  to  the  knife  ? 
God  pity  us  all  in  our  pitiful  strife. 

God  pity  us  all  as  we  jostle  each  other  ; 
God  pardon  us  all  for  the  triumph  we  feel 

When  a  fellow  goes  down  'neath  his  load  on  the 

heather, 

Pierced  to  the  heart ;  words  are  keener  than  steel, 
And  mightier  far  for  woe  than  for  weal. 

Were  it  not  well,  in  this  brief  little  journey, 
On  over  the  isthmus,  down  into  the  tide, 

We  give  him  a  fish,  instead  of  a  serpent, 
Ere  folding  the  hands  to  be  or  abide 
Forever  and  aye  in  the  dust  at  his  side  ? 

Look  at  the  roses  saluting  each  other ; 

Look  at  the  herds  all  at  peace  on  the  plain ; 

Man,  and  man  only,  makes  war  on  his  brother, 
And  laughs  in  his  heart  at  his  peril  and  pain, 
Shamed  by  the  beasts  that  go  down  on  the  plain. 

Is  it  worth  while  that  we  battle  to  humble 
Some  poor  fellow-creature  down  in  the  dust  ? 

God  pity  us  all !     Time  eftsoon  will  tumble 
All  of  us  together,  like  leaves  in  a  gust, 
Humbled,  indeed,  down  into  the  dust. 

[177]  JOAQUIN   MILLER. 


3Iune 


We  know  that  all  things  -work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God.  —  Romans  8  :  28. 

THE  crosses  of  the  present  moment  always 
bring  their  own  special  grace  and  consequent 
comfort  with  them  ;  we  see  the  hand  of  God  in 
them  when  it  is  laid  upon  us.  But  the  crosses 
of  anxious  foreboding  are  seen  out  of  the  dispen- 
sations of  God  ;  we  see  them  without  grace  to 
bear  them  ;  we  see  them  indeed  through  a  faith- 
less spirit  which  banishes  grace.  So  everything  in 
them  is  bitter  and  unendurable  ;  all  seems  dark 
and  helpless.  Let  us  throw  self  aside  ;  no  more 
self-interest,  and  then  God's  will,  unfolding  every 
moment,  will  console  us  for  all  that  He  shall  do 
around  us,  or  within  us.  FENELON. 

Being  perplexed,  I  say, 
Lord,  make  it  right  ! 
Night  is  as  day  to  Thee, 

Darkness  is  light. 
I  am  afraid  to  touch 
Things  that  involve  so  much  ;  — 

My  trembling  hand  may  shake, 
My  skilless  hand  may  break  ; 
Thine  can  make  no  mistake. 

ANNA    WARNER. 

Should  we  feel  at  times  disheartened  and  dis- 
couraged, a  confiding  thought,  a  simple  movement 
of  heart  towards  God  will  renew  our  powers. 

[I78]  FENELON. 


Slime 


Above  all  that  we  ask  or  think,  —  Ephesians  3  :  20. 

THEY  were  living  to  themselves  ;  self,  with  its 
hopes  and  promises  and  dreams,  still  had 
hold  of  them;  but  the  Lord  began  to  fulfil  their 
prayers.  They  had  asked  for  contrition,  and  He 
gave  them  sorrow  ;  they  had  asked  for  purity,  and 
He  sent  them  anguish  ;  they  had  asked  to  be 
meek,  and  He  had  broken  their  hearts  ;  they  had 
asked  to  be  dead  in  the  world,  and  He  slew  all 
their  living  hopes;  they  had  asked  to  be  made 
like  unto  Him,  and  He  had  placed  them  in  a  fur- 
nace till  they  should  reflect  His  image  ;  they  had 
asked  to  lay  hold  of  His  cross,  and  when  He 
had  reached  it  to  them,  it  lacerated  their  hands. 

But  if,  impatient,  thou  let  slip  thy  cross, 

Thou  wilt  not  find  it  in  this  world  again, 

Nor  in  another  ;  here,  and  here  alone 

Is  given  thee  to  suffer  for  God's  sake. 

In  other  worlds  we  shall  more  perfectly 

Serve  Him  and  love  Him,  praise  Him,  work  for  Him, 

Grow  near  and  nearer  Him  with  all  delight  ; 

But  then  we  shall  not  any  more  be  called 

To  suffer,  which  is  our  appointment  here. 

And  while  we  suffer  let  us  set  our  souls 

To  suffer  perfectly  :   since  this  alone, 

The  suffering,  which  is  this  world's  special  grace, 

May  here  be  perfected  and  left  behind. 

UGO    BASSl'S   SERMON   IN  THE   HOSPITAL. 

[179] 


Oh  that  I  might  have  my  request ;  and  that  God  would  grant 
me  the  thing  that  I  long  for  !  —  Job  6 :  8. 

YEA,  leave  it  with  Him, 
The  lilies  all  do, 

And  they  grow  — 
They  grow  in  the  rain, 
And  they  grow  in  the  dew  — 

Yes,  they  grow. 

They  grow  in  the  darkness,  all  hid  in  the  night ; 

They  grow  in  the  sunshine,  revealed  by  the  light, 

Still  they  grow. 

They  ask  not  your  planting, 

They  need  not  your  care 

As  they  grow. 

Dropped  down  in  the  valley, 
The  field  anywhere  — 

There  they  grow. 

They  grow  in  their  beauty,  arrayed  in  pure  white, 
They  grow  clothed  in  glory,  by  heaven's  own  light, 
Sweetly  grow. 

Yea,  leave  it  with  Him  ; 

Tis  more  dear  to  His  heart 

You  will  know 
Than  the  lilies  that  bloom, 
Or  the  flowers  that  start 
'Neath  the  snow. 

What  you  need,  all  you  need,  if  you  ask  it  in  prayer, 
You  can  leave  it  with  Him,  for  you  are  His  care, 
You,  you  know. 

[180] 


91une 


That  your  joy  may  be  full.  —  I  John  1  6  :  24. 

MANY  objects  in  this  earth  are  what  things  in 
heaven  will  be  like.  Meadows  we  shall  lie 
down  in  ;  and  there  will  be  the  murmur  in  our  ears 
of  the  river  of  life  ;  and  over  us  there  will  be 
a  tree  of  life,  and  through  the  leaves  of  it  some 
rays  of  the  light  of  God  will  shine  upon  us  in  that 
blessed  shade  ;  and  we  shall  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree,  because  it  is  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
And  God  will  be  all  in  all.  He  will  be  in  the  river 
of  life,  flowing  alongside  of  us,  and  in  the  light 
that  shines  through  it  ;  and  He  will  be  in  us, 
ourselves.  He  will  be  everlasting  growth  of  spirit 
in  us,  and  He  will  be  peace  and  joy.  Ay,  there 
will  be  then  one  soul  of  joy  in  us  and  in  God. 
We  in  Him,  He  will  be  in  us.  We  shall  be  nerves 
in  His  infinite  blessedness,  and  forever  be  thrilled 
with  delight.  MOUNTFORD. 

Open  our  eyes,  thou  Son  of  life  and  gladness, 

That  we  may  see  that  glorious  world  of  Thine  ! 
It  shines  for  us  in  vain,  while  drooping  sadness 
Enfolds  us  here  like  mist  ;  come,  Power  benign, 
Touch  our  chilled  hearts  with  vernal  smile, 
Our  wintry  course  do  Thou  beguile. 
Nor  by  the  wayside  ruins  let  us  mourn, 
Who  have  th'  eternal  towers  for  our  appointed  bourn. 

KEBLE. 


[181] 


31ime 


Pride  goeth  before  destruction  and  a  haughty  spirit  before 
a  fall.  —  Proverbs  16:  18. 

PRIDE  slays  thanksgiving,  but  a  humble  mind 
is  the  soil  out  of  which  thanks  naturally  grow. 
A  proud  man  is  seldom  a  grateful  man,  for  he 
never  thinks  he  gets  as  much  as  he  deserves. 
When  any  mercy  falls,  he  says,  "  Yes,  but  it  ought 
to  be  more.  It  is  only  manna  as  large  as  a  cori- 
ander seed,  whereas  it  ought  to  be  like  a  baker's 
loaf."  How  base  a  pool  God's  mercies  fall  into, 
when  they  plash  down  into  such  a  heart  as  that ! 
If  one  should  give  me  a  dish  of  sand,  and  tell  me 
there  were  particles  of  iron  in  it,  I  might  look 
for  them  with  my  eyes,  and  search  for  them  with 
my  clumsy  fingers,  and  be  unable  to  detect  them  ; 
but  let  me  take  a  magnet  and  sweep  through  it, 
and  how  would  it  draw  to  itself  the  almost  invisi- 
ble particles,  by  the  mere  power  of  attraction  ! 
The  unthankful  heart,  like  my  finger  in  the  sand, 
discovers  no  mercies ;  but  let  the  thankful  heart 
sweep  through  the  day,  and  as  the  magnet  finds 
the  iron,  so  it  will  find  in  every  hour  some  heavenly 
blessings ;  only  the  iron  in  God's  sand  is  gold. 

BEECHER. 

Ah  !  languid  hand,  safe  in  some  scented  glove, 
Give  alms  of  bread  —  give  truer  alms  of  love  — 
To  other  hands  whose  stains  and  scars  you  scorn  ! 

MRS.  S.  M.   i:.  I'lAlT. 
'[182] 


sace,  onjoymGnf", 


The  end  of  that  man  is  peace.  —  Psalm  37 :  37. 

Peace. 

I  STOOD  in  a  crowd  on  pleasure  bent, 
And  heard  the  ripple  of  laughter  and  song  ; 
But  the  song  was  stilled  ere  night  was  spent, 
And  the  laughter  sank  and  died  ere  long. 
Mirth  and  melody,  fume  and  fret 
Were  there ;  but  Peace  I  found  not  yet. 

Then  I  saw  a  cottage  where  want  and  care 

Had  entered  every  day  for  years, 
And  a  woman  was  there,  whose  face  was  fair, 

Tho'  scarred  by  pain  and  marked  by  tears  — 
A  face  that  was  fair  with  the  light  of  faith, 
And  a  love  that  was  stronger  still  than  death. 

I  stood  at  the  open  door,  and  heard 
A  voice  like  an  angel's,  sweet  and  low  : 

"  Who  doeth  my  will  and  keepeth  my  Word, 
Nor  grief  nor  pain  at  last  shall  know." 

And  the  woman  answered,  with  dying  breath, 

"True,  Lord!"  Then  I  knew  there  was  Peace  in 
Death. 

J.  T.  BURTON  WOLLASTON. 
[183] 


The  law  of  kindness.  — Proverbs  31 :  26. 

I  WAS  once  present  at  the  funeral  service  of  a 
man  who  was  held  in  high  esteem  in  his  com- 
munity. 

He  had  served  terms  in  the  state  legislature 
both  as  representative  and  senator,  and  had  made  a 
record  of  unblemished  honor.  He  was  a  deacon, 
and  trustee  and  Sunday-school  superintendent  in 
his  church,  and  had  always  been  influential  in  all 
church  and  philanthropic  work.  But  the  thing  for 
which  he  will  be  most  lovingly  remembered  was  his 
tenderness  of  heart  and  the  genius  he  had  for  doing 
little  things  to  brighten  the  lives  of  others.  As 
illustrative  of  this  spirit  and  habit,  an  incident 
occurred  at  his  church  one  Sabbath  morning.  A 
woman  came  to  the  service,  evidently  a  stranger. 

Mr.  M observed  her  and  divined  her  feeling 

of  loneliness,  and  when  he  passed  down  the  aisle 
with  a  collection  basket,  he  quietly  unpinned  a 
rose  which  he  wore  upon  his  coat  and  dropped  it  in 
the  lonesome  woman's  lap.  Instantly  the  whole 
atmosphere  of  the  church  changed  to  that  woman, 
the  sense  of  strangeness  vanished,  she  felt  herself 
among  friends,  and  her  heart  entered  warmly  into 
all  the  service  that  followed.  It  takes  a  great  soul 
to  do  a  little  thing  like  that.  j.  x.  MCFARLAND. 

The  kindly  deeds  which  their  own  balm  impart, 
These  are  not  lost. 

[184] 


While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  the  things 
that  are  not  seen  :  for  the  things  ivhich  are  seen  are  temporal ; 
but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal.  —  2  Corin- 
thians 4:  18. 

If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men 
most  miserable. —  I  Corinthians  15:  19. 


A  Blind  Spinner. 

LIKE  a  blind  spinner  in  the  sun,     • 
I  tread  my  days ; 
I  know  that  all  the  threads  will  run 

Appointed  ways. 

I  know  each  day  will  bring  its  task, 
And,  being  blind,  no  more  I  ask. 

I  do  not  know  the  use  or  name 

Of  what  I  spin ; 
I  only  know  that  some  one  came 

And  laid  within 

My  hand  the  thread,  and  said,  "  Since  you 
Are  blind,  but  one  thing  you  can  do." 

I  know  not  why,  but  I  am  sure 

That  tint  and  place, 
In  some  great  fabric  to  endure, 

Past  time  and  race, 

My  threads  will  have ;  so  from  the  first, 
Though  blind,  I  never  felt  accurst. 

HELEN   HUNT   JACKSON. 


Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  keep  his  way,  and  he  shall  exalt  thee  to 
inherit  the  land.  —  Psalm  37 :  34. 

OH,  keep  your  armor  bright, 
Sons  of  those  mighty  dead, 
And  guard  ye  well  the  right, 

For  which  such  blood  was  shed  ! 
Your  starry  flag  should  only  wave 
O'er  freedom's  home,  or  o'er  your  grave. 

BOTTA. 

It  is  our  duty  to  celebrate  this  day,  not  merely  by 
idle  pomp  and  vain  display,  but  in  a  manner  wor- 
thy of  the  great  men  and  the  great  principles  with 
which  it  is  associated,  by  high  purposes  and  mag- 
nanimous resolves,  by  deeper  gratitude  and  a  loftier 
faith.  The  character  of  man  is  always  more 
severely  tried  by  the  passive  than  the  active  vir- 
tues. The  same  dignity  of  mind  and  elevation  of 
character  which  gave  our  fathers  the  power  to  do, 
gave  them  also  the  power  to  bear  and  suffer.  Their 
noble  example  demands  from  us  to  watch  for  the 
overshadowing  presence  of  that  spirit  of  the  Lord, 
without  which  there  is  no  true  liberty. 

Faith  of  our  fathers  !  Good  men's  prayers 
Shall  win  our  country  all  to  thee ; 

And  through  the  truth  that  comes  from  God 
Our  land  shall  then  indeed  be  free. 

Faith  of  our  fathers  !     Holy  faith  ! 

We  will  be  true  to  thee  till  death  ! 

[186] 


jfiftlj 

Pray  witiwut  ceasing.  —  I  Thessalonians  5:17. 


M 


ORE  things  are  wrought  by  prayer  than  this 
world  dreams  of. 


Prayer  is  not  overcoming  God's  reluctance,  it  is 
laying  hold  of  His  highest  willingness. 

ARCHBISHOP   TRENCH. 

I  have  lived  to  thank  God  that  all  my  prayers 
have  not  been  answered.  JEAN  INGELOW. 

Now,  soul,  be  very  still  and  go  apart. 

Fly  to  thy  inmost  citadel,  and  be  thou  still. 
Dost  thou  not  know  the  trembling,  shrinking  heart 

That  feels  the  shadow  of  some  coming  ill  ? 
Ah  !  no.  Tis  not  delusion ;  some  kind  care 
Touches  thee,  soul,  and  whispers  thee,  "  Beware  !  " 

So,  soul,  come  with  me,  and  be  sure  we'll  find 
A  sanctuary,  wherein  dwells  faith  and  prayer ; 

Then,  if  misfortune  come,  cast  doubt  behind ; 
We  shall  have  strength  to  fight  or  strength  to  bear ; 

No  prisoners  of  evil  fate  are  we, 

For  in  our  breast  we  carry  Hopeful's  key. 

MARY  A.  BARR. 

It  is  an  introspection  on  which  all  religion  has 
been  built,  man  going  into  himself,  and  seeing  the 
struggle  within  him,  and  thence  getting  self-knowl- 
edge, and  thence  knowledge  of  God.  MOZLEY. 

[187] 


Sing  unto  him  a  new  song.  —  Psalm  33 :  3. 

THE  power  of  a  Christian  hymn  has  been  one 
of  the  great  beneficent  forces  in  human  life. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  overestimate  it.  Litera- 
ture and  art  and  oratory  influence  the  emotions  and 
conduct  of  man.  Noble  poetry  haunts  and  inspires 
us.  But  in  the  trying  crises  of  life  —  in  tempta- 
tion, or  misfortune,  or  sickness,  or  sorrow,  or  even 
death  —  myriads  of  souls  have  been  comforted  and 
helped  by  the  sustaining  influence  of  Christian  song. 


Two  Songs. 

A  singer  sang  a  song  of  tears, 

And  the  great  world  heard  and  wept ; 

For  he  sang  of  the  sorrows  of  the  fleeting  years 
And  the  hopes  which  the  dead  past  kept ; 

And  souls  in  anguish  their  burdens  bore, 

And  the  world  was  sadder  than  before. 

A  singer  sang  a  song  of  cheer, 

And  the  great  world  listened  and  smiled ; 
For  he  sang  of  the  love  of  a  Father  dear 

And  the  trust  of  a  little  child ; 
And  souls  that  before  had  forgotten  to  pray 
Looked  up  and  went  singing  along  the  way. 


[188] 


lull? 


Be  ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not  the  Son 
of  man  cometh.  —  S.  Matthew  24 :  44. 


T 


HE  vain  regret  that  steals  above  the  wreck  of 
squandered  hours.  WHITTIER. 


The  Foolish  Virgin. 

"  The  midnight  comes  on  and  my  lamp  unfilled  ! " 
(Black  and  stormy  the  night  wanes  on.) 

"  Sisters,  help  !  ere  my  hope  be  killed ; 

Give  of  your  store,  that  my  lamp  be  filled." 
(The  Bridegroom  into  the  House  hath  gone.) 

"  Sisters,  help  !  "     They  have  closed  the  door. 

(Black  and  stormy  the  night  wanes  on.) 
Naught  they  give  of  their  brimming  store, 
Each  one  watching  the  lamp  she  bore. 

(The  Bridegroom  into  the  House  hath  gone.) 

"  I  will  knock,  though  the  door  be  closed." 
(Black  and  stormy  the  night  wanes  on.) 

"  Lord,  thy  handmaid  waits.     Unclose  ! 

Around  me  night  like  a  river  flows." 

(The  Bridegroom  into  the  House  hath  gone.) 

"Who  knocks  so  late  from  the  darkened  East?" 

(Black  and  stormy  the  night  wanes  on.) 
"  Depart !     I  know  nor  greater  nor  least, 
Who  brings  no  light  to  the  marriage  feast." 
(The  Bridegroom  into  the  House  hath  gone.) 

MARIE   B.  WILLIAMS. 
[189] 


A  people  that  jeopardized  their  lives  unto  the  death  in  the  high 
places  of  the  field.  —  Judges  5  :  18. 

COMB],  Howard,  from  the  gloom  of  the  prison 
and  the  taint  of  the  lazar-house,  and  show  us 
what  philanthropy  can  do  when  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  Jesus ;  come,  Eliot,  from  the  thick  forest 
where  the  red  man  listens  to  the  Word  of  Life ; 
come,  Penn,  from  the  sweet  counsel  and  weapon- 
less victory,  and  show  us  what  Christian  love  can 
accomplish  with  the  rudest  barbarians  and  the 
fiercest  hearts.  Come,  Raikes,  from  thy  labors 
with  the  ignorant  and  the  poor  and  show  us  with 
what  an  eye  this  faith  regards  the  lowest  and  the 
least  of  our  race ;  and  how  diligently  it  labors  for 
the  plastic  soul  that  is  to  course  the  ages  of  immor- 
tality. And  ye,  who  are  a  great  number,  ye  name- 
less ones,  who  have  done  good  in  your  narrow 
spheres,  content  to  forego  renown  on  earth,  and 
seeking  your  reward  on  high  —  come  and  tell  us 
how  kindly  a  spirit,  how  lofty  a  purpose,  or  how 
strong  a  courage  the  religion  ye  professed  can 
breathe  into  the  poor,  the  humble,  and  the  weak. 
Go  forth,  then,  Spirit  of  Christianity,  to  thy  great 
work  of  REFORM  !  The  past  bears  witness  to  thee 
in  the  blood  of  thy  martyrs,  and  the  ashes  of 
thy  saints  and  heroes ;  the  present  is  hopeful  be- 
cause of  thee ;  the  future  shall  acknowledge  thy 
omnipotence.  CHAPIN. 


[190] 


Lord,  thou  hast  heard  the  desire  of  the  humble :  .  .  .  thou 
ivilt  cause  thine  ear  to  hear.  —  Psalm  10:  17. 

"  T     Ex\RN  to  entwine  with  prayers  the  small 

J y  cares,  the  trifling  sorrows,  tie  little  wants 

of  daily  life.  Whatever  affects  you  —  be  it  a 
changed  look,  an  altered  tone,  an  unkind  word,  a 
wrong,  a  wound,  a  demand  you  cannot  meet,  a  sor- 
row you  cannot  disclose  —  turn  it  into  prayer,  and 
send  it  up  to  God.  Disclosures  you  may  not  make 
to  man  you  can  make  to  the  Lord.  Only  give  your- 
self to  prayer,  whatever  be  the  occasion  that  calls 
for  it." 

He  Knows, 

He  knows  it  all  at  set  of  sun, 

The  little  errands  I  have  run, 
How  hard  I  tried  and  where  I  failed, 

Where  dreadful  wrong  and  sin  prevailed  ; 
He  knows  the  burden  and  the  cross. 

The  heavy  trial  and  the  loss 
,    That  met  me  early  on  the  way, 

And  lingered  still  at  close  of  day. 
He  knows  it  all  —  how  tired  I  grew 

When  pressing  duties  that  I  knew 
Were  mine,  I  left  in  part  undone, 

And  how  I  grieved  at  set  of  sun, 
And  could  not  rest  till  His  sweet  tone 

Of  calming  love  had  gently  shown 
Me  that  He  did  not  blame —  He  knew 

That  I  had  tried  my  best  to  do. 
[191] 


The  race  is  not  to  the  swift  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong. 
Ecclesiastes  9:11. 


I 


SAW  them  start,  an  eager  throng, 
All  young  and  strong  and  fleet ; 


Joy  lighted  up  their  beaming  eyes, 

Hope  sped  their  flying  feet. 
And  one  among  them  so  excelled 

In  courage,  strength,  and  grace, 
That  all  men  gazed  and  smiled  and  cried : 

"  The  winner  of  the  race  ! " 

But  ah,  what  folly  !     See,  he  stops 

To  raise  a  fallen  child, 
To  place  it  out  of  danger's  way 

With  kiss  and  warning  mild. 
A  fainting  comrade  claims  his  care, 

Once  more  he  turns  aside  ; 
Then  stays  his  strong,  young  steps  to  be 

A  feeble  woman's  guide. 

The  race  is  o'er.     'Mid  shouts  and  cheers 

I  saw  the  victors  crowned  ; 
Some  wore  fame's  laurels,  some  love's  flowers, 

Some  brows  with  gold  were  bound. 
But  all  unknown,  unheeded,  stood  — 

Heaven's  light  upon  his  face  — 
With  empty  hands  and  uncrowned  head, 

The  winner  of  the  race. 

SUSAN   MARK   SPAULDING. 
[192] 


It  is  God  that  girdeth  me  with  strength  and  maketh  my  way 
perfect.  —  Psalm  18  :  32. 

THE  Christian  learns  by  frequent  experience 
that  he  cannot  live  without  prayer.  And  so 
he  prays  daily  and  hourly,  not  as  a  duty,  but  as  a 
necessity,  —  prays  when  it  is  necessary,  be  it  sel- 
dom or  often,  —  prays  till  the  need  is  supplied,  till 
the  hunger  has  ceased,  till  the  empty  soul  is  filled, 
till  his  weakness  has  been  made  strength,  till  his 
weariness  has  changed  to  inward  rest.  And  then, 
having  prayed  from  necessity,  he  prays  again  spon- 
taneously, the  prayer  of  thanksgiving  and  gratitude, 
the  acknowledgment  of  his  new  life. 

Silent  the  starry  sails  go  down 

Upon  the  western  sea  ; 
Silent  they  bear  away  our  cares 

And  leave  us  glad  and  free ; 
So  calm  each  overburdened  heart, 

So  still  each  burning  chord, 
So  glad  to  sink  down  at  His  feet, 

And  listen  to  the  Lord. 

AGNES   E.  MITCHELL. 

No  soul  can  preserve  its  strength  or  the  bloom 
of  its  consecration  without  lonely  musing  and  silent 
prayer ;  and  the  greatness  of  this  necessity  is  in 
proportion  to  the  greatness  of  the  soul. 

FARRAR. 

[193] 


'A  new  commandment   I  give  unto  you,  That  ye   love  one 
another,  as  I  have  loved  you.  — S.  John  13:  34. 

THE  love  of  Christ  is  not  an  absorbing,  but  a 
radiating  love.  The  more  we  love  Him,  the 
more  we  shall  most  certainly  love  others.  Some  have 
not  much  natural  power  of  loving,  but  the  love  of 
Christ  will  strengthen  it.  Some  have  had  the 
springs  of  love  dried  up  by  some  terrible  earth- 
quake. They  will  find  "  fresh  springs  "  in  Jesus, 
and  the  gentle  flow  will  be  purer  and  deeper  than 
the  old  torrent  could  ever  bear.  Some  have  spent 
it  all  on  their  God-given  dear  ones.  Now  He  is 
come  whose  right  it  is ;  and  yet  in  the  fullest 
resumption  of  that  right,  He  is  so  gracious  that  He 
puts  back  an  even  larger  measure  of  the  old  love 
into  our  hand,  sanctified  with  His  own  love,  and 
energized  with  His  own  blessing,  and  strengthened 
with  His  new  commandment,  "That  ye  love  one 
another,  as  I  have  loved  you."  HAVERGAL. 

Oh,  sweet  command,  that  goes  so  far  beyond 
The  mightiest  impulse  of  the  tenderest  heart ! 
A  bare  permission  had  been  much  ;  but  He 
Who  knows  our  yearnings  and  our  fearfulness, 
Chose  graciously  to  bid  us  do  the  thing 
That  makes  our  earthly  happiness, 
A  limit  that  we  need  not  fear  to  pass, 
Because  we  cannot.     Oh,  the  breadth  and  length, 
And  depth  and  height  of  love  that  passeth  knowledge  ; 
Yet  Jesus  said,  "  As  I  have  loved  you." 
[194] 


The  Lord  knoweth  the  days  of  the  upright :  and  their  in- 
heritance  shall  be  for  ever.  —  Psalm  37 :  18. 

HAVE  they  days  of  affliction?  The  Lord 
knows  them.  Have  they  days  of  danger? 
He  knows  them,  and  will  be  a  refuge  and  defence 
in  them.  Have  they  days  of  duty?  He  knows 
them,  and  will  furnish  the  strength  and  the  help 
they  require.  Have  they  days  of  inaction,  when 
they  are  laid  aside  from  their  work  by  accident 
or  disease  ?  He  knows  them.  Have  they  days  of. 
privation  when  they  are  denied  the  ordinances 
of  the  church?  He  knows  them,  and  will  follow 
His  people  when  they  cannot  follow  Him,  and  be 
a  little  sanctuary  to  them  in  their  losses.  Have 
they  days  of  feebleness  and  of  old  age,  in  which 
their  strength  is  fled,  and  their  senses  fail?  He 
knows  them,  and  says,  "  I  remember  thee,  the 
kindness  of  thy  youth.  Even  to  old  age  I  am 
He,  and  to  hoary  hairs  will  I  bear  and  carry  you." 

WILLIAM   JAY. 

Among  so  many,  can  He  care  ? 

Can  special  love  be  everywhere  ? 

A  myriad  homes,  —  a  myriad  ways,  — 

And  God's  eye  over  every  place  ? 

I  asked  :  my  soul  bethought  of  this  :  — 

In  just  that  very  place  of  His 

Where  He  hath  put  and  keepeth  you, 

God  hath  no  other  thing  to  do  ! 

MRS.  A.  D.  T.  WHITNEY. 
[195] 


Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heart :  try  me,  and  know 
my  thoughts :  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me.  — 
Psalm  139:  23-24. 

SHALL  not  God  search  this  out?  for  He 
knoweth  the  secrets  of  my  heart."  The 
greatness  of  guilt  arises  chiefly  from  the  greatness 
of  God's  goodness  towards  us,  from  the  favors, 
the  lights  and  instruction  that  we  have  received 
from  Him.  In  order  to  know  your  own  guilt, 
you  must  consider  your  own  circumstances,  your 
health,  your  sickness,  your  youth  or  age,  your 
special  duties,  the  happiness  of  your  education, 
the  degree  of  light  and  instruction  you  have  re- 
ceived, the  admonition  that  you  have  had,  the 
resolutions  of  amendment  that  you  have  so  often 
broken,  and  the  checks  of  conscience  that  you 
have  disregarded.  It  is  from  this  examination 
that  each  one  must  learn  the  measure  and  great- 
ness of  his  own  guilt.  Frequent  reflection  will 
cause  us  to  seek  for  pardon  and  strength  from  God. 

Deep  regret  for  follies  past, 

Talents  wasted,  time  misspent,  — 
Hearts  debased  by  worldly  cares, 

Thankless  for  the  blessings  lent ;  — 
These  and  every  secret  fault, 

Filled  with  grief  and  shame,  we  own ; 
Humbled  at  Thy  feet  we  bow, 

Seeking  strength  from  Thee  alone. 

[196] 


jfiftenttl) 

Cleanse  me  from  secret  faults.  —  Psalm  19:  12. 

LORD,  have  compassion  upon  us.     Chastise  us. 
By  any  means  clear  the  guilt   that  is  in  us. 
Make   us   to  feel   the    sinfulness   of  sin,  but   yet, 
have   compassion,  and   chastise  us  because  Thou 

loVCSt  US  !  BEECHER. 

If,  every  time  conscience  was  wronged,  it  sighed, 
and  every  time  reason  was  perverted,  it  uttered 
complaints,  no  one  could  live  for  the  moaning 
which  would  fill  his  soul. 

Strangled. 

There  is  a  legend  in  some  Spanish  book 
About  a  noisy  reveller  who,  at  night, 
Returning  home  with  others,  saw  a  light 

Shine  from  a  window,  and  climbed  up  to  look 

And  saw  within  the  room  hanged  to  a  hook 
His  own  self-strangled  self,  grim,  rigid,  white, 
And  who,  struck  sober  by  that  livid  sight, 

Feasting  his  eyes,  in  tongue-tied  terror  shook. 

Has  any  man  a  fancy  to  peep  in 

And  see,  as  through  a  window  in  the  past, 

His  noble  self  self-choked  with  toils  of  sin, 

Or  sloth  or  folly?     Round  the  throat  whipped 
fast 

The  nooses  give  the  face  a  stiffened  grin. 

Tis  but  thyself.     Look  well.     Why  be  aghast? 

EUGENE   LEE   HAMILTON. 


What  time  I  am  afraid  I  will  call  on  thee.  —  Psalm  56 :  3. 

WE  have  all  taken  a  sorrow  or  a  perplexity 
out  into  the  noontide  or  the  midnight  and 
felt  its  morbid  bitterness  drawn  out  of  it,  and 
a  great  peace  descend  and  fill  it  from  the  depth 
of  the  majesty  under  whose  arch  we  stood.  .  .  . 
The  sweet  and  solemn  influence  which  comes  to 
you  out  of  the  noontide  or  the  midnight  sky  does 
not  take  away  your  pain,  but  it  takes  out  of  it  its 
bitterness.  It  lifts  it  to  a  higher  peace.  It  says, 
"  Be  still  and  wait."  It  gives  the  reason  power 
and  leave  and  time  to  work.  It  gathers  the  partial 
into  the  embrace  of  the  universal. 

PHILLIPS   BROOKS. 

Who  of  us  has  not  bowed  his  will  to  some 
supreme  law,  accepted  some  obedience  as  the 
atmosphere  in  which  his  life  must  live,  and  found 
that  his  mind's  darkness  at  once  turned  to  light, 
and  that  many  a  hard  question  found  its  answer? 
Who  has  not  sometimes  seemed  to  see  it  all  as 
clear  as  daylight,  that  not  by  the  sharpening  of  the 
intellect  to  supernatural  acuteness,  but  by  the  sub- 
mission of  the  nature  to  its  true  authority,  man 
was  at  last  to  conquer  truth ;  that  not  by  agonizing 
struggles  over  contradictory  evidence,  but  by  the 
harmony  with  Him  in  whom  the  answers  to  all 
our  doubts  are  folded,  a  harmony  with  Him  brought 
by  obedience  to  Him,  our  doubts  must  be  en- 
lightened? PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 


r>a\' 

77*<?  wwr/£  of  our  hands  establish  thou  it. —  Psalm  90:  17. 

SILENTLY  the  work  of  our  lives  goes  on. 
It  proceeds  without  intermission,  and  all  that 
has  been  done  is  the  under-structure  for  that  which 
is  to  be  done.  Young  man  and  maiden,  take  heed 
to  the  work  of  your  hands.  That  which  you  are 
doing  is  imperishable.  You  do  not  leave  it  behind 
you  because  you  forget  it.  It  passes  away  from 
you  apparently,  but  it  does  not  pass  away  in 
reality.  Every  stroke,  every  single  element  abides, 
and  there  is  nothing  that  grows  so  fast  as  character. 

The   Work  of  Our  Hands. 
"  The  work  of  our  hands,  establish  Thou  it." 

So  often  with  thoughtless  lips  we  pray ; 

But  He  who  sits  in  the  heavens  shall  say, 
"  Is  the  work  of  thy  hands  so  fair  and  fit, 

That  ye  dare  so  pray  ? 

"  Is  it  strong  as  the  wonderful  bonds  that  knit 
All  truth  as  one  ?     Is  it  pure  as  snow  ? 
As  gracious  and  sweet  as  the  winds  that  blow  ? 

As  true  as  the  stars  that  are  nightly  lit 
For  the  world  below?  " 

Softly  we  answer  :  "  Lord,  make  it  fit, 
The  work  of  our  hands,  that  so  we  may 
Lift  our  voices  and  dare  to  pray, 

The  work  of  our  hands,  establish  Thou  it, 
Forever  and  aye. 

CARL01TA  PERRY. 


Lord,  teach  us  to  pray.  —  S.  Luke  2:1. 

IT  is  not  only  in  the  beginning  of  a  devotional 
life  that  assistance  is  required.  "  Likewise 
the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities,"  says  the 
apostle ;  "  for  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray 
for  as  we  ought,  but  the  Spirit  itself  maketh  inter- 
cession for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered."  And  where  is  the  Christian  who  would 
not  often  have  given  over  the  exercise,  under 
a  sense  of  his  imperfections  and  weaknesses,  but 
for  the  hope  of  the  supply  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  the  promise,  "  If  ye  then,  being  evil, 
know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him?"  This 
has  revived  him  again,  and  out  of  weakness  he 
has  been  made  strong,  and  delighted  himself  in 
the  Almighty.  Happy  they  who,  by  the  great 
Teacher,  are  thus  taught  to  pray.  WILLIAM  JAY. 

Prayer  is  the  breath  of  God  in  man, 

R«turning  whence  it  came ; 
Love  is  the  sacred  fire  within, 

And  prayer  the  rising  flame. 

The  humble  suppliant  cannot  fail 

To  have  his  wants  supplied, 
Since  He  for  sinners  intercedes, 

Who  once  for  sinners  died. 

BENJAMIN   BEDDOME. 
[200] 


Go  work  in  my  vineyard.  —  S.  Matthew  21 :  28. 

"AT  7HY  stand  ye  here  idle?  "  when  dewy  and 

VV          bright, 

The  vine's  purple  clusters  wave  in  the  morn's  light ; 
"  Why  stand  ye  here  idle  ?  "  when  noon's  golden 

glare 

Falls  over  the  vineyard  —  ripe,  waiting  and  fair. 
"  Why  stand  ye  here  idle  ?  "  when  broad  fields  in  view 
Are  white  for  the  harvest,  and  reapers  are  few. 
"  Why  stand  ye  here  idle  still,  all  the  day  long," 
While  the  sunset  is  near  and  the  glad  harvest  song  ? 

"  Go  work  in  the  vineyard  !  to-day  must  thou  share 
The  heat  and  the  burden  my  laborers  bear." 
Thus  the  voice  of  the  Master  for  each  of  us  calls, 
Though  sealed  be  our  ears  when  the  pleading  voice 

falls.  MARY  A.    LEAVITT. 

Oh,  if  every  one  could  put  his  arms  round  one 
other  one,  and  save  him  from  perdition,  it  would 
be  worth  a  lifetime  of  exertion.  If  you  can  lie 
down  on  the  bed  of  death,  and  ask,  of  what  avail 
has  been  my  living?  and  only  one  redeemed  by 
your  agency,  only  one  shall  stand  before  you,  only 
one  upon  whom  you  can  fix  your  dying  eyes,  and 
feel,  "  God  has  given  me  that  as  a  seal  to  my 
ministry,"  oh,  it  were  enough  !  It  were  enough  ! 
For  the  redemption  of  one  human  soul  is  worth 
...  a  lifetime  of  self-denial.  JOHN  B.  GOUGH. 

[201] 


Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols.  — S.  John  5  :  21. 

,  not  by  loving  less,  but  loving  more. 

It  is  not  that  we  love  our  precious  ones 
Too  much,  but  God  too  little.     As  the  lamp 
A  miner  bears  upon  his  shadowed  brow 
Is  only  dazzling  in  the  grimy  dark, 
And  has  no  glare  against  the  summer  sky, 
So,  light  the  tiny  torch  of  our  best  love 
In  the  great  sunshine  of  the  love  of  God, 
And,  though  full  fed  and  fanned,  it  casts  no  shade 
And  dazzles  not,  o'erflowed  with  mightier  light." 

There  is  no  love  so  deep  and  wide  as  that  which 
is  kept  for  Jesus.  It  flows  both  fuller  and  farther 
when  it  flows  only  through  Him.  Then,  too,  it 
will  be  a  power  for  Him.  It  will  always  be  un- 
consciously working  for  Him.  In  drawing  others 
to  ourselves  by  it,  we  shall  necessarily  be  drawing 
them  nearer  to  the  fountain  of  our  love,  never 
drawing  them  away  from  it.  It  is  the  great  magnet 
of  His  love  which  alone  can  draw  any  heart  to 
Him ;  but  when  our  own  are  thoroughly  yielded 
to  its  mighty  influence,  they  will  be  so  magnetized 
that  He  will  condescend  to  use  them  in  this  way. 

HAVERGAL. 

Idols  of  dust, 
Idols  of  clay, 
Crumble  and  fall, — 
Vanish  for  aye. 
[202] 


fun? 


These  all  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  suppli- 
cation.—  Acts  I  :  14. 

PUBLIC  devotion  has  claims  upon  us.  God 
has  commanded  us  not  to  forsake  the  assem- 
bling of  ourselves  together  as  the  manner  of  some 
is ;  and  He  has  said,  "  In  all  places  where  I  record 
my  name,  I  will  come  unto  thee  and  I  will  bless 
thee."  The  worship  of  the  sanctuary  enlivens 
our  feelings,  endears  us  to  each  other,  and  keeps 
the  distinctions  of  life  from  becoming  excessive. 
There  the.  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together,  and 
seek  and  serve  a  Being  with  whom  there  is  no 
respect  of  persons.  Let  me  always  avail  myself 
of  the  privilege,  and  be  glad  when  they  say  unto 
me,  "  Let  us  go  up  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

With   One  Accord. 

"  With  one  accord  !  "     The  day  had  brought 
Its  vexing  cares  ;  its  anxious  thought ; 
With  labor  worn,  with  doubts  perplexed, 
With  toils  and  troubles  sorely  vexed ; 
When  evening  brought  its  hour  of  prayer, 
With  sweet  accord  we  gathered  there. 

"  The  door  was  shut !  "    "  With  one  accord  " 
We  kneeled  before  our  risen  Lord ; 
Some  needed  strength  ;  some  needed  peace ; 
Some  prayed  that  wrongs  and  woes  might  cease  j 
All  felt  the  need  of  humble  prayer, 
All  needed  Christ,  and  Christ  was  there. 
[203] 


Every  purpose  of  the  Lord  shall  be  performed. — Jeremiah 
51  :  29. 

A  MAN  cannot  choose  his  own  life.  He  can- 
not say :  "  I  will  take  existence  lightly,  and 
keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  wretched,  mistaken, 
energetic  creatures,  who  fight  so  heartily  in  the 
great  battle."  He  cannot  say :  "  I  will  stop  in 
the  tents  while  the  strife  is  fought,  and  laugh  at 
the  fools  who  are  trampled  down  in  the  useless 
struggle."  He  cannot  do  this.  He  can  only  do, 
humbly  and  fearfully,  that  which  the  Maker  who 
created  him  has  appointed  for  him  to  do.  If  he 
has  a  battle  to  fight,  let  him  fight  it  faithfully.  But 
woe  betide  him  if  he  skulks  when  his  name  is 
called  in  the  mighty  muster-roll  !  woe  betide  him 
if  he  hides  in  the  tents  when  the  tocsin  summons 
him  to  the  scene  of  war  !  M.  E.  BRADDON. 

Exactly  thus  men  stand  to  God  : 

I  with  my  courier,  God  with  me.     Just  so 

I  have  His  bidding  to  perform  ;  but  mind 
And  body,  all  of  me,  though  made  and  meant 
For  that  sole  service,  must  consult,  contest 
With  my  own  self  and  nobody  beside, 
How  to  effect  the  same  :  God  helps  not  else. 

ROBERT   BROWNING. 


Thou  -wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed 
on  time.  —  Isaiah  26 :  3. 

A  TRUE    Christian,  that  hath  power  over  his 
own  will,  may  live  nobly  and  happily,  and 
enjoy  a  clear  heaven  within  the  serenity  of  his  own 
mind  perpetually. 

He  can  look  about  him,  and  with  an  even  and 
indifferent  mind  behold  the  world  either  to  smile 
or  frown  upon  him  ;  neither  will  he  abate  of  the 
least  of  his  contentment  for  all  the  ill  and  unkind 
usage  he  meets  withal  in  this  life.  He  that  hath 
got  the  mastery  over  his  own  will  feels  no  violence 
from  without,  finds  no  contests  within ;  and  when 
God  calls  for  him  out  of  this  state  of  mortality, 
he  finds  in  himself  a  power  to  lay  down  his  own 

life.  DR.  JOHN   SMITH. 

In  heavenly  love  abiding 

No  change  my  heart  shall  fear, 
And  safe  is  such  confiding, 

For  nothing  changes  here  : 
Th'e  storm  may  roar  without  me, 

My  heart  may  low  be  laid, 
But  God  is  round  about  me, 

And  can  I  be  dismayed? 
His  wisdom  ever  waketh, 

His  sight  is  never  dim, 
He  knows  the  way  He  taketh, 

And  I  will  walk  with  Him. 

WARING. 

[205] 


None  of  them  that  trust  in  him  shall  be  desolate.  —  Fsalm 
34 :  22. 

WE  cannot  always  be  doing  a  great  work,  but 
we  can  always  be  doing  something  that 
belongs  to  our  condition.  To  be  silent,  to  suffer, 
to  pray  when  we  cannot  act,  is  acceptable  to  God. 
A  disappointment,  a  contradiction,  a  harsh  word, 
an  annoyance,  a  wrong  received  and  endured  as 
in  His  presence,  is  worth  more  than  a  long  prayef ; 
and  we  do  not  lose  time  if  we  bear  its  loss  with 
gentleness  and  patience,  provided  the  loss  was 
inevitable,  and  was  not  caused  by  our  own  fault. 

FENELON. 

Trust. 
Though  the  rain  may  fall  and  the  wind  be  blowing, 

And  cold  and  chill  is  the  wintry  blast, 
Though  the  cloudy  sky  is  still  cloudier  growing, 

And  the  dead  leaves  tell  that  summer  has  passed, 
My  face  I  hold  to  the  stormy  heaven, 

My  heart  is  as  calm  as  the  summer  sea, 
Glad  to  receive  what  my  God  has  given, 
Whate'er  it  be. 

If  I  trust  Him  once  I  must  trust  Him  ever, 

And  His  way  is  best  though  I  stand  or  fall. 
Through  wind  and  storm  He  will  leave  me  never ; 
He  sends  it  all. 

MRS.  FRANK   TAYLOR. 
[206] 


Be  content  witk  such  things  as  ye  have:  for  he  hath  said, 
I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee.  —  Hebrews  13  :  5. 

MY  future  will  not  copy  fair  the  past 
On  any  leaf  but  heaven's.     Be  fully  done, 
Supernal  Will !     I  would  not  fain  be  one 
Who,  satisfying  thirst  and  breaking  fast 
Upon  the  fulness  of  the  heart,  at  last 
Says  no  grace  after  meat.     My  wine  has  run 
Indeed  out  of  my  cup,  and  there  is  none 
To  gather  up  the  bread  of  my  repast, 
Scattered  and  trampled  —  yet  I  find  some  good 
In  earth's  green  herbs,  and  streams  that  bubble  up 
Clear  from  the  darkling  ground  —  content  until 
I  sit  with  angels  before  better  food. 
Dear  Christ !  when  Thy  new  vintage  fills  my  cup 
This  hand  shall  shake  no  more,  nor  that  wine  spill. 

E.  B.  BROWNING. 

Contentment  is  not  to  be  caught  by  long  and 
foreign  chases :  he  is  likliest  to  find  it  who  sits  at 
home  and  duly  contemplates  those  blessings  which 
God  has  placed  within  his  reach. 

Each  pilgrim,  weary  of  a  changing  life, 

Who  ceases  battling  with  its  constant  strife ; 
Who  turns  to  Him  by  whom  all  things  are  made, 

Shall  be  contented  still  and  unafraid. 
Be  content ;  God's  promise  covers  both  present 
and  future  needs.'    "My  cup"  for   the   present, 
my  "inheritance  "  for  the  future,  "  my  lot  "  for  all 
conditions  and  places. 

[207] 


Hull? 


A  wounded  spirit  who  can  bear?  —  Proverbs  18:  14. 

IN  how  many  cases  the  hasty  temper  flashes  out, 
and  does  its  work  with  the  precision  and  the 
pain  of  the  swift  stiletto  !  Singularly  enough,  the 
hasty  word  oftenest  wounds  those  we  love.  We 
know  the  weak  points  in  the  armor  of  our  friend  ; 
we  are  aware  of  his  caprices,  and  are  ordinarily 
tender  and  compassionate  even  of  his  vanities  ; 
but  there  dawns  a  day  when  it  is  written  in  the 
book  of  fate  that  we  shall  be  as  cruel  as  loving. 
We  are  cold,  or  tired,  or  hungry.  So  politeness 
fails  us,  fortitude  is  vanished,  and  we  say  that 
which  we  repent  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  But 
though  the  hasty  word  may  be  forgiven,  it  is  not 
forgotten.  It  has  flawed  the  crystal  of  our  friend- 
ship; there  is  a  shadowy  scar  on  the  gleaming 
surface.  HARPER'S  BAZAR. 

We  have  careful  thought  for  the  stranger, 
And  smiles  for  the  sometime  guest, 
But  oft  for  "  our  own  " 
The  bitter  tone, 

Though  we  love  our  own  the  best. 
Ah  !  lip  with  the  curve  impatient  ; 
Ah  !  brow  with  that  look  of  scorn, 
'Twere  a  cruel  fate 
Were  the  night  too  late 
To  undo  the  work  of  the  morn. 

MARGARET   SANGSTER. 
[208] 


/,  the  Lord,  search  the  heart ;  I  try  the  reins,  even  to  give 
every  man  according  to  his  ways,  and  according  to  the  fruit 
of  his  doings.  —  Jeremiah  17  :  10. 

HAVE  patience  with  all  things,  but  chiefly 
have  patience  with  yourself.  Do  not  lose 
courage  in  considering  your  own  imperfections, 
but  instantly  set  about  remedying  them ;  every 
day  begin  the  task  anew.  The  best  way  of  at- 
taining to  Christian  perfection  is  to  be  aware 
that  you  have  not  yet  reached  it ;  but  never  be 
weary  of  recommencing.  Whosoever  is  overcome 
with  a  sense  of  his  own  faults,  will  not  be  able  to 
subdue  them. 

Be  thou  faithful,  watch  and  p'ray ; 

Murmur  not,  nor  dare  repine, 
If  thy  labor  seems  in  vain, 

From  the  dawn  to  day's  decline. 

Where  the  foot  of  sin  has  trod, 
There,  unwearied,  do  thou  toil ; 

Still  renew  with  ready  zeal 
Effort  to  reclaim  the  soil. 

There  are  briars  besetting  every  path, 

That  call  for  patient  care, 
There's  a  cross  in  every  lot 

And  an  earnest  need  for  prayer ; 
But  the  heart  that  leans  on  Thee 

Is  happy  everywhere.  WARING. 

[209] 


Watching  .  .  .  with  all  perseverance. —  Ephesians  6:  18. 
Faint,  yet  pursuing.  —  Judges  8 : 4. 

IF,  losing  all  that  makes  life  smooth  and  sunny, 
one  still  retains  that  which  is  more  than  houses 
or  lands,  or  prosperity  or  friends;  if,  under  sickness 
or  temptation,  when  heart  and  flesh  fail,  one  still 
follows  on  after  God,  ignoring  the  bitterness  of 
life,  and  taking  up  its  burdens  "  for  Christ's  sake," 
be  sure  that  that  courage  and  that  support  come 
from  a  vital  religion. 

Because  I  hold  it  sinful  to  despond, 
And  will  not  let  the  bitterness  of  life 

Bind  me  with  burning  tears,  but  look  beyond 
Its  tumult  and  its  strife  ; 

Because  I  lift  my  head  above  the  mist 

Where  the  sun  shines  and  the  broad  breezes  blow, 
By  every  ray  and  every  raindrop  kissed 

That  God's  love  doth  bestow,  — 

Think  you  I  find  no  bitterness  at  all  ? 

No  burden  to  be  borne,  like  Christians'  pack? 
Think  you  there  are  no  ready  tears  to  fall 

Because  I  keep  them  back? 

And  in  each  one  of  these  rebellious  tears 

Kept  bravely  back  He  makes  a  rainbow  shine. 

Grateful,  I  take  His  slightest  gift :  no  fears 
Nor  any  doubts  are  mine.         CELIA  THAXTER. 


[210] 


He  shall  flourish  like  the  palm  tree :  he  shall  grow  like 
a  cedar  in  Lebanon.  Those  that  be  planted  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  shall  flourish  in  the  courts  of  our  God.  — 
Psalm  92:  12,  13. 

THE  wind  that  blows  can  never  kill 
The  tree  God  plants  ; 
It  bloweth  east,  it  bloweth  west, 
The  tender  leaves  have  little  rest, 
But  any  wind  that  blows  is  best. 

The  tree  God  plants 
Strikes  deeper  root,  grows  higher  still, 
Spreads  wider  boughs,  for  God's  good  will 
Meets  all  its  wants.         H.  c.  BUNNER. 

"  He  shall  flourish  like  the  palm  tree  :  he  shall 
grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon."  Of  the  wicked 
the  Saviour  had  said  just  before,  "When  the 
wicked  spring  as  the  grass,  and  when  all  the 
workers  of  iniquity  do  flourish,  it  is  that  they 
shall  be  destroyed  forever."  They  flourish  as  the 
grass,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into 
the  oven.  What  a  contrast  with  the  weakness 
and  destiny  of  grass  are  the  palm  tree  and  cedar 
in  Lebanon.  They  are  evergreen.  How  beauti- 
fully, how  firmly,  how  largely  they  grow.  How 
strong  and  lofty  is  the  cedar.  How  upright  and 
majestic  and  tall  is  the  palm  tree.  "  Those  that 
be  planted  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  shall  flourish 
in  the  courts  of  our  God,  and  shall  bring  forth 
fruit  in  their  old  age." 


Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  business?    He  shall  stand  before 
kings.  —  Proverbs  22 :  29. 


D 


ILIGENCE  and  perseverance,  in  the  right 
paths  of  life,  bring  God's  blessings  with  them. 

Perseverance. 

The  proudest  motto  for  the  young  ! 

Write  it  in  lines  of  gold 
Upon  thy  heart,  and  in  thy  mind 

The  stirring  words  unfold  ; 
And  in  misfortune's  dreary  hour 

Or  fortune's  prosperous  gale, 
Twill  have  a  holy,  cheering  power, 

"  There's  no  such  word  as  fail !  " 

MRS.  NEAL. 

Perseverance  will  not  only  make  friends,  but  it 
will  make  favorable  circumstances.  It  will  change 
the  face  of  all  things  around  us ;  clouds  of  dark- 
ness, evil  forebodings,  opposition,  enemies,  barriers 
of  every  kind,  will  vanish  before  a  stout  heart  and 
resolute  energy  of  soul.  The  Alps  stood  between 
Napoleon  and  Italy  which  he  desired  to  conquer. 
He  scaled  the  mountain  and  descended  upon 
his  prey.  His  startling  descent  more  than  half 
conquered  the  country.  He  forced  every  circum- 
stance into  his  favor.  His  greatest  barrier  proved 
a  sure  means  of  victory.  So  a  barrier  once  scaled 
affords  a  vantage-ground  for  our  future  efforts. 

[212] 


With  cheerfulness.  —  Romans  12:8. 

Cheerfulness. 

I  THINK  we  are  too  ready  with  complaint 
In  this  fair  world  of  God's.     Had  we  no  hope, 
Indeed,  beyond  the  zenith  and  the  scope 
Of  yon  gray  bank  of  sky,  we  might  grow  faint 
To  muse  upon  Eternity's  constraint 

Round  our  aspirant  souls ;  but  since  the  scope 
Must  widen  early,  is  it  well  to  droop 
For  a  few  days  consumed  in  loss  and  taint? 
Oh,  pusillanimous  heart,  be  comforted  ; 

And  like  a  cheerful  traveller  take  the  road, 
Singing  beside  the  hedge.     What  if  the  bread 

Be  bitter  in  thine  inn  and  thou  unshod 
To  meet  the  flints  ?     At  least  it  may  be  said 

"  Because  the  way  is  short,  I  thank  Thee,  God." 

MRS.  BROWNING. 

Keep  the  sunshine  of  a  living  faith  in  the  heart. 
Do  not  let  the  shadow  of  discouragement  vand 
despondency  fall  upon  your  path.  However  weary 
you  may  be,  the  promises  of  God  will,  like  the 
stars  at  night,  never  cease  to  shine,  to  cheer  and 
strengthen.  The  best  harvests  are  the  longest  in 
ripening.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  work  in  the 
earth  plucking  the  ugly  tares  and  weeds,  but  it 
is  as  necessary  as  sowing  the  seed.  The  harder 
the  task,  the  more  need  of  singing. 

ROYAL   PATH   OF   LIFE. 
[213] 


9 

CtglKli 


Though  he  may  slay  me  yet  will  I  trust  him.  —  Job  31  :  15. 


UIDE  me,  O  Lord,  in  all  the  changes  and 
vanities  of  the  world;  tljat  in  all  things 
that  shall  happen,  I  may  have  an  evenness  and 
tranquillity  of  spirit ;  that  my  soul  may  be  wholly 
resigned  to  Thy  divinest  will  and  pleasure,  never 
murmuring  at  Thy  gentle  chastisements  and  fatherly 
corrections.  Amen.  JEREMY  TAYLOR. 


Our  hearts  are  temples  of  the  living  God ;  and 
though  idols  have  been  set  up  there,  Thou,  O  God, 
dost  not  desire  the  temple,  but  the  idol  only.  Thou 
wilt  lead  us  through  grief  to  exaltation;  thou  wilt 
lead  us  downward,  that  we  may  stand  not  far  from 
Thy  throne.  Thou  wilt  make  us  like  Thyself. 
Knowing  the  baptism,  and  knowing  the  cup,  we 
still  say,  "  Let  us  not  sit  far  from  Thy  right  hand 
and  Thy  left  in  Thy  glory.  We,  knowing  what  it  is 
to  follow  Christ,  desire  still  to  follow.  Though  it 
be  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  the  road  to  the  cross,  we 
desire  to  keep  Thee  company."  BEECHER. 


OtTI 


°f 

ippy  yearj 

Sbokespeare. 


////«  ///atf  overcometh  .  .  .  I  "will  write  upon  him  my  new 
name.  —  Revelation  3:12. 

A  FAITH,  a  life  that  overcomes,  — 
A  warfare  unto  victory. 
And  then  reward  !     A  pure  white  stone, 

And  in  the  stone  a  secret  name,  — 
A  strange,  new  name,  and  no  two  stones 

Shall  bear  inscription  quite  the  same. 
And  thus  the  sacred  record  reads  : 

"  No  man  may  know  it  saving  he 
Who  shall  receive  it "  —  his  alone 

This  new  and  blessed  name  shall  be. 

This  is  the  thought  that  thrills  me  through  : 

We  have  a  secret  —  God  and  I ! 
He  keeps  it  now,  but  unto  me 

He  will  reveal  it  by  and  by. 
And  while  I  wait,  my  heart  still  holds 

Some  fancy,  beautiful  and  fair, 
Of  what  the  glad  surprise  will  be 

When  He  His  thought  with  me  shall  share. 

MRS.  HERRICK   JOHNSON. 

O  God,  Thou  knowest  what  is  the  battle  with 
each  one.  Wilt  Thou  help  every  one  of  us  to  gain 
victories  in  his  own  place  and  over  his  own  nature. 
May  we  not  be  weary  in  well-doing ;  may  none  of 
us  feel  as  though  it  were  too  long  a  strife,  or  too 
hard  to  bear.  BEECHER. 


The  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them. 
—  Revelation  7:17. 

THE  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
shall  feed  them.  Here  the  imagery  is  pastoral. 
His  people  are  held  forth  as  sheep,  and  He  per- 
forms the  office  of  shepherd.  His  concern  with 
them  begins  here.  He  seeks  after  them  when  lost. 
He  brings  them  to  His  fold  and  feeds  them.  They 
can  rely  on  His  care,  and  say,  "  The  Lord  is  my 
shepherd,  I  shall  not  want." 

While  He  affords  His  aid, 
I  cannot  yield  to  fear ; 

Though  I  should  walk  through  Death's  dark  shade, 
My  Shepherd's  with  me  there. 

Nor  is  this  all.  When  they  shall  have  washed 
their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb ;  when  they  shall  be  before  the  throne, 
and  serve  Him  day  and  night,  even  then,  He  shall 
feed  them;  not,  as  now,  in  the  wilderness,  but  in 
the  heavenly  Canaan  ;  not,  as  now,  surrounded  with 
enemies,  but  where  all  shall  be  quietness  and  assur- 
ance forever.  He  shall  be  the  dispenser  and  the 
source  of  happiness.  "  He  that  sitteth  on  the  throne 
shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hunger  no  more, 
neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light 
on  them,  nor  any  heat :  for  the  Lamb  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them. 

WILLIAM   JAY. 
[216] 


Jfourtl) 

Godliness  with  contentment  is  great  gain.  —  I  Timothy  6 :  6. 

NO  man  can  tell  whether  he  be  rich  or  poor  by 
turning  to  his  ledger.     It  is  the  heart  that 
makes  a  man  rich. 

Enjoy  the  present,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  be 
not  solicitous  for  the  future;  for  if  you  take  your 
foot  from  the  present  standing,  and  thrust  it  for- 
ward to  to-morrow's  event,  you  are  in  a  restless 
condition ;  it  is  like  refusing  to  quench  your  thirst 
by  fearing  you  will  want  to  drink  the  next  day.  If 
to-morrow  you  should  want,  your  sorrow  would 
come  time  enough,  though  you  do  not  hasten  it ; 
let  your  trouble  tarry  till  its  own  day  comes.  En- 
joy the  blessings  of  this  day,  if  God  sends  them, 
and  the  evils  of  it  bear  patiently*  and  sweetly,  for 
this  day  is  ours.  We  are  dead  to  yesterday  and 
not  yet  born  to  to-morrow.  A  contented  mind  is 
the  greatest  blessing  a  man  can  enjoy  in  this  world. 

T.    L.    HAINES  AND   L.   W.    SAGGY. 

To  us  remains  nor  place  nor  time  ; 
Our  country  is  in  every  clime  ; 
We  can  be  calm  and  free  from  care 
On  any  shore,  since  God  is  there. 
While  place  we  seek  or  place  we  shun, 
The  soul  finds  happiness  in  none  ; 
But  with  our  God  to  guide  our  way, 
'Tis  equal  joy  to  go  or  stay. 

MADAME  GUYON. 

[217] 


jftftt) 

Fulfil  (he  law  of  Christ.  —  Galatians  6 :  7. 

(EAR  ye  one  another's  burdens  and  so  fulfil 


B1 


life.  Be  helpful.  Let  those  who  have  joy  minister 
to  those  who  are  without  it.  From  the  cross,  I  seem 
to  hear  a  voice  which  comes  straight  to  us,  saying  : 
"  Thou  shalt  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you." 
That  means  that  you  should  enter  into  one  another's 
life  and  bear  one  another's  burdens.  Over  against 
sorrow  and  suffering  the  Master  has  put  Fatherhood 
and  immortality. 

"  Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory."  "  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn, 
for  they  shall  be,comforted." 

Ring  out  the  message  wherever  hearts  are  break- 
ing and  eyes  filled  with  tears  !  All  things  are  in  the 
Father's  hands  ;  not  one  is  utterly  alone  ;  no  life  is 
without  purpose,  and  all  things  are  moving  upward. 

AMORY    H.  BRADFORD. 

Our  God  is  love  ;  and  all  His  saints 

His  image  bear  below  : 
The  heart  with  love  to  God  inspired, 

With  love  to  man  will  glow. 
Teach  us  to  love  each  other,  Lord, 

As  we  are  loved  by  Thee  ; 
None  who  are  truly  born  of  God 

Can  live  in  enmity. 

THOMAS    COTTERILL. 
[ai8] 


Behold  the  eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  them  that  fear  him,  upon 
them  that  hope  in  his  mercy.  —  Psalm  33 :  18. 

YOUR  life  and  mine  may  be  vaulted  very  low, 
yet  it  has  its  outlook  of  shining  possibilities. 
We  are  insignificant  when  placed  side  by  side  with 
illustrious  names.  But  there  are  those,  in  contrast 
with  whom  we  are  strong.  With  such,  daily  associ- 
ation makes  us  very  familiar. 

Walk  up  and  down  this  weary,  suffering  world, 
with  eyes  like  Christ's.  Let  issue  from  your  lives 
an  influence  so  blessed,  that,  though  you  be  not  her- 
alded as  the  great  benefactors  of  the  race,  though 
your  death  produce  no  universal  shock, —  there 
shall  rise  to  God  the  silent  testimony  of  sorrowing 
souls  that  you  have  comforted.  E.  A.  TANNER. 

Who  calls  thy  glorious  service  hard  ? 
.  Who  deems  it  not  its  own  reward  ? 
Who,  for  its  trials,  counts  it  less 
A  cause  of  praise  and  thankfulness  ? 

For  where  our  duty's  task  is  wrought 
In  unison  with  God's  great  thought, 
The  near  and  future  blend  in  one, 
And  whatsoe'er  is  willed  is  done  ! 

And  were  this  life  the  utmost  span, 
The  only  end  and  aim  of  man, 
Better  the  toils  of  fields  like  these 
Than  waking  dreams  and  slothful  ease. 

WHITTIER. 
[219] 


Thou  hast  been  a  shadow  from  the  heat.  —  Isaiah  25  :  4. 

A  SHADOW  from  the  heat !  Heat  means  evil— 
A\.  every  evil  from  which  it  is  desirable  to  be 
screened.  Heaven  is  a  state  —  and  many  have 
reached  it  —  where  the  sun  does  not  light  on  them, 
or  any  heat.  But  it  is  otherwise  in  this  world. 
Here  many  things  affect  the  mind  as  heat  does  the 
body,  —  afflictions,  trials,  temptations  ;  here  is  the 
heat.  Where  is  the  shadow?  Behold  Me,  "Come 
unto  Me,"  "  This  is  the  rest,"  says  God,  "  and  this 
is  the  refreshing."  WILLIAM  JAY. 

Beneath  the  cross  of  Jesus 

I  fain  would  take  my  stand, 
The  shadow  of  a  mighty  Rock, 

Within  a  weary  land. 
A  home  within  the  wilderness, 

A  rest  upon  the  way, 
From  the  burning  of  the  noontide  heat, 

And  the  burden  of  the  day. 

O  safe  and  happy  shelter, 

O  refuge  tried  and  sweet, 
O  trysting-place  where  heaven's  love 

And  heaven's  justice  meet ! 
As  to  the  holy  patriarch 

That  wondrous  dream  was  given, 
So  seems  my  Saviour's  cross  to  me 

A  ladder  up  to  heaven. 

ELIZABETH   CLEPHANE. 

[220] 


Blessed  is  the  man  whom  than  chastcnest,  O  Lord,  and  teach- 
est  him  out  of  thy  law.  —  Psalm  94 :  \2. 

IF  we  could  be  half  sufficient  to  ourselves,  we 
should  soon  lose  the  secret  sense  of  depend- 
ence upon  God.  We  build  our  plans  up  about  us, 
and  so  we  shut  out  the  sight  of  heaven,  and  very 
soon  the  thought  of  it,  and  we  say  to  ourselves  we 
will  be  merry  with  the  goods  we  shall  have  stored 
up  with  us. 

liut  some  earthquake  of  Providence  shakes  our 
building,  and  overhead  it  is  unroofed,  and  the  walls 
of  it  give  way.  And  then  there  is  heaven  to  be 
seen  again,  and  infinity  is  open  round  us,  and  the 
dews  of  divine  grace  can  fall  on  us  again,  and 
again  we  feel  ourselves  at  the  mercy  of  God,  to  be 
spared  from  cold,  and  storms,  and  enemies.  And 
so,  among  the  ruins  of  our  pride,  we  grow  to  be 
loving  children  of  the  Most  High  instead  of  worldly 
creatures.  MOUNTFORD. 

My  Jesus,  as  Thou  wilt : 

Though  seen  through  many  a  tear, 
Let  not  Thy  star  of  hope 

Grow  dim  or  disappear. 
Since  Thou  on  earth  hast  wept 

And -sorrowed  oft  alone, 
If  I  must  weep  with  Thee, 

My  Lord,  Thy  will  be  done. 

BENJAMIN   SCHMOLKE. 
[221] 


Absent  in  the  body  but  present  in  spirit. —  I  Corinthians  5  :  3. 

'  I^HE  nearer  we  draw  to  Christ,  the  nearer  we 
X  are  to  all  the  joys  that  have  been,  or  are  yet 
to  be  ours.  For  in  the  heart  of  things,  at  the  cen- 
tre of  the  spiritual  universe,  there  is  neither  past 
nor  future,  but  a  grand,  glorious,  eternal  present, 
where  the  Author  of  all  existences  dwells,  and  where 
it  is  our  privilege  to  abide,  even  here  among  the 
earth-shadows.  There  should  be  no  sadness  in 
memory,  as  there  is  none  in  hope.  We  can  never 
leave  in  the  past  aught  of  the  beautiful  and  true 
that  has  once  been  received  into  our  lives.  It  is 
the  soul's  permanent  possession,  into  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  which  we  shall  come  when  we  take  on  the 
resurrection  body.  Do  we  ever  leave  the  morning 
behind  us?  The  instant  it  becomes  a  memory 
does  it  not  become  a  hope  also?  As  it  recedes 
from  view,  are  we  not  journeying  straight  toward  its 
reappearing  as  truly  as  we  journey  toward  the  night 
that  lies  between  ?  Ah,  Memory  and  Hope  are  not 
two  angels ;  they  are  the  two  outspread  wings  of  the 
one  beautiful  angel  Faith,  who  stands  ever  with  ra- 
diant countenance  fronting  God's  eternal  present, 
at  the  heart  of  which  sits  enthroned  our  humanity 
in  the  person  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  holds 
in  His  hands  the  thread  of  each  individual  life,  every 
gem,  every  jewel,  ever  strung  thereon.  Ah !  the  dear 
Lord  takes  care  of  our  past  as  well  as  of  our  future, 
else  what  were  life  worth.  MRS.  E.  L.  SKINNER. 
[222] 


Oh  !  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  for  then  I  would  fly  away 
and  be  at  rest.  —  Psalm  4 :  6. 

NOT  now,  my  child,  —  a  little  more  rough  toss- 
ing, 

A  little  longer  on  the  billow's  foam ; 
A  few  more  journeyings  in  the  desert  darkness, 
And  then  the  sunshine  of  thy  Father's  home  ! 
Not  now ;  for  I  have  loved  ones  sad  and  weary  : 
Wilt  thou  not  cheer  them  with  a  kindly  smile  ? 
Sick  ones,  who  need  thee  in  their  lonely  sorrow ; 
Wilt  thou  not  tend  them  yet  a  little  while  ? 

MRS.  CAROLINE   PENNEFEATHER. 

Our  work  on  earth  is  not  alone  within  ourselves  ;  or 
rather,  as  the  inward  work  is  being  accomplished,  it 
will  find  expression  in  all  blessed  helps  and  benefi- 
cences to  others.  We  will  minister  to  the  bereaved 
in  the  midst  of  the  strokes  that  have  desolated  their 
joys.  If  frosts  have  seared  and  killed  their  gardens 
of  earthly  joy,  we  will  remind  them  that  though 
frosts  must  come,  Spring,  too,  will  come  again  with 
its  resurrection-time.  We  will  sustain  those  who 
are  under  temptation  by  pointing  to  the  promise 
that  none  of  those  who  trust  in  God  can  ever  be 
tempted  above  that  they  are  able  to  bear.  We  will 
comfort  the  sick  in  their  pain,  and  relieve  the  poor 
in  their  poverty.  And  thus  going  forward  from  one 
good  work  to  another  we  will  be  brought  safely  and 
triumphantly  to  "  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God." 

[223] 


Cletocntlj 

I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father.  —  S.  Luke  15  :  1 8. 

WHAT  time  we  plead  our  poverty,  what  time 
we  come  abjectly  to  ask  for  the  lowest  place, 
Thou  dost  throw  about  us  the  royal  robe  of  forgive- 
ness ;  Thou  dost  put  sandals  upon  our  feet  and  a 
ring  upon  our  hand ;  Thou  callest  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  feast,  and  we  are  received  again  in  the 
estate  of  children  in  our  Father's  house.  Our  chas- 
tisements have  been  fewer  than  our  sins,  and  when 
Thou  hast  mingled  bitterness  in  our  cup,  Thou  hast 
still  forborne ;  Thou  hast  watched  our  need,  ever 
taking  counsel  of  the  generosity  of  Thine  own 
heart  —  Thou  hast  dealt  according  to  the  measure 
that  was  in  Thee,  and  not  according  to  the  measure 
of  desert  in  us.  BEECHER. 

Come  home  !  Come  home  ! 
You  are  weary  at  heart, 
For  the  way  has  been  dark 
And  so  lonely  and  wild, 
O  prodigal  child  ! 
Come  home  !  Oh  !  come  home, 

Come  home  !  Come  home  ! 
From  the  sorrow  and  blame, 
From  the  sin  and  the  shame, 
And  the  tempter  that  smiled, 

O  prodigal  child  ! 
Come  home  !  Oh  !  come  home  ! 

MRS.  ELLEN   H.  GATES. 
[224] 


Ittgttft 


He  that  taketh  not  his  cross  and  follmveth  after  me  is  not  wor- 
thy of  me.  —  S.  Matthew  10  :  38. 

IN  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  versions  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  word  disciple  is  rendered  "  leorning-cniht  " 
—  a  learning  servant  or  follower.  Christian  Knight- 
hood or  discipleship  demands  an  absolute  devote- 
ment  of  the  life  to  the  service  of  Christ.  The 
candidate  for  knighthood  in  the  holy  orders  in 
mediaeval  times  spent  the  night  preceding  his  induc- 
tion in  solemn  vigils  before  the  altar  of  the  church, 
in  solemn  meditations,  prayers,  and  confessions, 
and  before  he  received  his  sword  and  spurs,  he 
bound  himself  by  the  most  solemn  vows  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  church  and  the  order. 

So  too,  only  with  deeper  heart-searching,  must 
he  who  becomes  a  "  leorning-cniht  "  of  Christ,  bind 
himself  to  his  Divine  Master  with  the  most  solemn 
vows  and  the  most  absolute  self-surrender. 

This  is  Christ's  imperative  demand  :  "  If  any 
man  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  his  cross  and  follow  Me.  For  whosoever  shall 
save  his  life  shall  lose  it  :  and  whosoever  will  lose 
his  life  for  My  sake,  shall  find  it." 

J.  T.  McFARLAND. 

Long  though  my  task  may  be, 

Cometh  the  end. 
God  'tis  that  helpeth  me, 
His  is  the  work,  and  He 

New  strength  will  lend. 
[225] 


The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  man.  —  Psalm  94  :  1 1. 

THOUGHTS  of  my  soul  how  swift  ye  go  ! 
Swift  as  the  eagle's  glance  of  fire, 
Or  arrows  from  the  archer's  bow 
To  the  far  aim  of  your  desire  ! 
Thought  after  thought  ye  thronging  rise 

Like  spring-doves  from  the  startled  wood, 
Bearing,  like  them,  your  sacrifice 

Of  music  unto  God.  WHITTIER. 

Subtile  and  intangible  are  the  forms  in  which 
thought  steals  upon  us  and  proves  it  deathlessness. 
A  rude  stave  from  a  plantation  melody  reaches  us, 
and  we  strain  our  ears  to  catch  the  beating  of 
a  human  heart ;  the  heart  which  years  ago,  per- 
haps, crowded  all  the  want  and  oppression,  the 
anguish  and  simple-hearted  devotion  of  a  helpless 
people  into  a  cry  that  was  at  once  petition  and 
triumphal  outburst.  We  gaze  upon  the  constel- 
lations at  midnight,  and  across  two  thousand  years 
floats  the  immortal  thought  of  the  psalmist :  "The 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God ;  and  the  firma- 
ment showeth  His  handiwork."  We  read  the 
quaint  old  hymn,  "Jerusalem,  the  golden,  how 
pants  my  heart  for  thee,"  and  our  souls  swell 
within  us  as  we  picture  the  gates  of  pearl  and 
the  street  of  gold,  and  that  wonderful  city,  built 
without  hands.  MRS.  JOHN  j.  MCCABE.  ' 

[226] 


flugugt 

jfourteentl) 


We  ought  also   to   lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  — 
S.  John  3  :  14. 

"  r  I  ^  O  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren." 
J_  Yes,  some  one  will  say,  that  is  a  beautiful 
sentiment,  but  the  opportunity  for  fulfilling  it  is 
rare.  We  are  not  likely  to  be  called  upon  to  lay 
down  our  lives.  If  we  should  be,  then  we  ought 
to  be  heroic  enough  to  do  rt.  Nay,  this  is  the 
opportunity  of  every  one  of  us.  Not  a  rare  call 
to  the  few,  but  the  daily  duty  of  all. 

Let  any  man  resolutely  set  out  to  live  as  Christ  did 
and  he  will  find  that  his  life  will  be  the  way  of  the 
cross.  This  was  Christ's  ideal  —  that  His  disciples 
should  re-enact  His  voluntary  substitutional  sacri- 
fice until  sin  shall  be  driven  from  the  world.  He 
never  intended  that  His  cross  should  be  a  kind 
of  magical  sign  to  which  we  should  look  and  be 
saved,  but  that  it  should  be  a  perpetual  reality 
in  the  lives  of  his  followers.  The  cross  was  the 
law  of  His  life  ;  it  must  also  be  the  law  of  life 
for  every  genuine  disciple  of  His.  It  was  the 
instrument  of  His  exaltation.  It  must  also  be 
the  instrument  of  our  exaltation. 

J.   T.   McFARLAND. 

O  hearts  of  love  !     O  souls  that  turn 
Like  sunflowers  to  the  pure  and  best  ! 
To  you  the  truth  is  manifest  : 

For  they  the  mind  of  Christ  discern 
Who  lean,  like  John,  upon  His  breast. 

[227]  WHITTIER. 


jftfteenti) 

In  quiet  resting  places.  — Isaiah  32 :  1 8. 

SHE  folded  up  the  worn  and  mended  frock 
And  smoothed  it  tenderly  upon  her  knee, 
Then  through  the  soft  web  of  a  wee  red  sock 
She  wove  the  bright  wool,  musing  thoughtfully  : 
"  Can  this  be  all ?     The  great  world  is  so  fair, 
I  hunger  for  its  green  and  pleasant  ways ; 
A  cripple  prisoned  in  her  restless  chair 

Looks  from  her  window  with  a  wistful  gaze  — 

"  I  can  but  weave  a  fair  thread  to  and  fro, 

Making  a  frail  woof  in  a  baby's  sock  ; 
Into  the  world's  sweet  tumult  I  would  go, 

At  its  strong  gates  my  trembling  hand  would 

knock ; " 
Just  then  the  children  came,  the  father  too ; 

Their  eager  faces  lit  the  twilight  gloom ; 

"  Dear  heart,"  he  whispered,  as  he  nearer  drew, 

"  How  sweet  it  is  within  this  little  room. 

"  Home  is  the  pasture  where  my  soul  may  feed, 
This  home  a  paradise  has  grown  to  be ; 

And  only  where  these  patient  feet  shall  lead 
Can  it  be  home  for  these  dear  ones  and  me." 

The  mother  drew  the  baby  to  her  knee 

And,  smiling,  said  :  "  The  stars  shine  soft  to-night ; 

My  world  is  fair ;  its  edges  soft  to  me, 
And  whatsoever  is,  dear  Lord,  is  right." 

MAY   RILEY   SMITH. 

[228] 


x/    merry  heart   maketh   a   cheerful  countenance;    but   by 
sorrow  of  heart  the  spirit  is  broken. —  Proverbs  15  :  13. 

GOD  bless  the  cheerful  people  —  man,  woman 
or  child,  old  or  young,  illiterate  or  educated, 
handsome  or  homely.  What  the  sun  is  to  nature, 
what  God  is  to  the  stricken  heart,  are  cheerful 
persons  in  the  house  and  by  the  wayside.  They 
go  unobtrusive,  unconsciously,  about  their  mission, 
happiness  beaming  from  their  faces.  We  love  to 
sit  near  them.  We  love  the  nature  of  their  eye, 
the  tone  of  their  voice.  Little  children  find  them 
out  quickly,  amid  the  densest  crowd,  and  passing 
by  the  knitted  brow,  and  compressed  lip,  glide 
near,  laying  a  confiding  hand  on  their  knee,  and 
lift  their  clear  young  eyes  to  those  loving  faces. 

A.  A.  WILLITS. 

Why  do  we  not  always  smile  when  we  meet  a 
fellow-being?  That  is  the  true  recognition  which 
ought  to  pass  from  soul  to  soul.  Little  children 
do  this  involuntarily.  The  honest-hearted  Ger- 
man peasant  does  it.  It  is  the  magical  sunlight 
all  through  that  simple  land,  the  perpetual  greeting 
on  the  right  hand  or  the  left  between  strangers 
as  they  pass  each  other,  never  without  a  smile. 
This  then  is  the  "  Fine  art  of  smiling,"  like  all 
fine  art,  true  art,  perfection  of  art,  the  simplest 
following  of  nature.  HELEN  HUNT. 


[229] 


If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again  ?  — Job  14 :  14. 

WE  find  in  every  sound  mind  a  passionate 
desire  for  immortality.  Wherever,  since 
the  morning  stars  sang  together,  man  or  woman 
has  asked  the  question,  "  What  is  Truth  ?  "  and  has 
patiently  sought  the  answer,  and  has  beaten  against 
the  bars  of  the  earth,  and  has  confronted  the  limits 
of  time,  the  Comforter  has  whispered  Immortality  ! 

Wherever  man  or  woman  has  been  profoundly 
moved  to  become  strong,  pure,  and  beneficent, 
but  from  weakness  and  passion  and  selfishness 
has  been  sorely  tempted  to  abandon  the  ideal,  the 
Comforter  has  whispered  Immortality  ! 

Wherever  man  or  woman  has  caught  the  in- 
spiration of  service,  and  has  longed  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  permanent  well-being  of  self  and 
others,  and  after  unspeakable  weariness  and  sinful- 
ness  has  looked  upon  meagre  accomplishment, 
and  has  cried  in  bitterness,  "  What  doth  it  profit? 
Let  me  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  I  die  !  "  the 
Comforter  has  whispered  Immortality! 

E.   A.    TANNER. 

Be  still !  Just  now  be  still ! 

There  comes  a  presence  very  mild  and  sweet, 

White  are  the  sandals  on  his  noiseless  feet ; 

It  is  the  Comforter  whom  Jesus  sent 

To  teach  what  all  the  words  He  uttered  meant. 

The  waiting,  willing  spirit  He  doth  fill : 

If  thou  wouldst  hear  His  message,  soul,  be  still ! 

[230]        MRS.  S.  M.  I.  HENRY. 


It  dotli  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that 
when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him.  —  S.  John  3 :  2. 

OUR  highest  thoughts  do  not  reach  the  level 
of  our  happiness  hereafter.  For  every  in- 
stant it  will  be  sublimer  than  first  hearing  the 
organ  in  York  Minster,  more  tender  than  lovers' 
faith,  more  earnest  than  any  act  of  self-sacrifice. 
Oh,  the  truths  I  shall  know,  the  beauty  I  shall  see, 
and  the  friends  I  shall  have  !  At  first  our  ever- 
lasting life  will  be  like  a  summer's  day,  so  calm, 
and  beautiful,  and  long ;  it  will  last  on  and  on  and 
on.  And  when  no  nights  come,  then,  little  by  little, 
we  shall  begin,  in  awe  and  wonder,  to  feel  what 
it  is  to  be  immortal.  MOUNTFORD. 

As  little  children  in  a  darkened  hall 

At  Christmas-tide  await  the  opening  door, 
Eager  to  tread  the  fairy- haunted  floor 
Around  the  tree  with  goodly  gifts  for  all, 
Oft  in  the  darkness  to  each  other  call  — 
Trying  to  guess  their  happiness  before  — 
Or  knowing  elders  eagerly  implore 
To  tell  what  fortune  unto  them  may  fall : 
So  wait  we  in  Time's  dim  and  narrow  room, 

And,  with  strange  fancies  or  another's  thought, 
Try  to  divine  before  the  curtain  rise 
The  wondrous  scene  ;  forgetting  that  the  gloom 

Must  shortly  flee  from  what  the  ages  sought  — 
The  Father's  long-planned  gift  of  Paradise. 

CHARLES    HENRY    CRANDALL. 
[231] 


jlimrtccntl) 

/  have  sinned.  —  Job  7 :  20. 

Sin. 

KNOWEST  thou  not  all  germs  of  evil 
In  thy  heart  await  their  time  ? 
Not  thyself,  but  God's  restraining, 

Stays  their  growth  of  crime.       WHITTIER. 

O  Sin,  what  hast  thou  done  to  this  fair  earth? 

DANA. 

Remember  that  falls  are  not  always  by  the  grosser 
sins  which  the  world  takes  count  of,  but  by  spiritual 
sins,  subtle  and  secret,  which  leave  no  stain  upon 
the  outward  life.  MANNING. 

Earnest  toil  and  strong  endeavor 

Of  a  spirit  which  within 
Wrestles  with  familiar  evil 

And  besetting  sin.  WHITTIER. 

All  sin,  unrepented  of,  must  be  punished ;  and 
even  the  most  noxious  criminals,  the  enemies  of 
God  and  His  creatures,  are  not  useless  in  the 
universe,  but  answer  the  terrible  but  benevolent 
end  of  warning  all  other  creatures  against  diso- 
bedience, which  would  involve  them  in  the  same 
misery,  just  as  the  execution  of  a  few  malefactors 
in  human  governments  is  of  extensive  service  to 
the  rest  of  the  subjects.  LYMAN  BEECHER. 

[232] 


The  way  lukich  thou  shalt  go.  —  Psalm  32 :  8. 

r  I  ^HERE  are  heart-sicknesses  known  to  earth 
JL  more  real  and  distressing  than  any  physical 
malady.  Times  there  are  in  each  human  life  when 
the  sharp  sword  pierces  to  the  very  centre  of  the 
soul.  Speaking  after  the  manner  of  this  world, 
the  agony  seems  greater  than  can  be  borne.  What 
then?  Shall  we  sink  down  into  despair,  or  shall 
we  take  refuge  then  in  stoicism?  No.  There 
is  a  better  way.  Summon  thy  strength  to  new 
courage.  Say  to  thy  soul  within  the  thick  shadows, 
where  no  light  enters  :  This  is  the  way  God  would 
have  me  go. 

"  He  chose  this  path  for  thee. 
No  feeble  chance,  nor  hard,  relentless  fate, 

But  love,  His  love,  hath  placed  thy  footsteps  here ; 
He  knew  the  way  was  rough  and  desolate, 

He  knew  the  heart  would  often  sink  with  fear ; 
Yet  tenderly  He  whispers,  '  Child,  I  see 
This  path  is  best  for  thee  ! '" 

"  He  chose  this  path  for  thee, 
Though  well  He  knew  sharp  thorns  would  tear  thy 

feet, 

Knew  how  the  branches  would  obstruct  thy  way, 
Knew  all  the  hidden  dangers  thou  wouldst  meet, 
Knew  how  thy  faith  would  falter  day  by  day ; 
And  still  the  whisper  echoed,  '  Yes,  I  see 
This  path  is  best  for  thee  ! '  " 
[233] 


None  of  them  that  trust  in  him  shall  be  desolate.  —  Psalm 
34:52- 

I  WILL  not  doubt  though  all  my  ships  at  sea 
Come  drifting  home  with  broken  masts  and  sails  ; 
I  shall  believe  the  hand  that  never  fails 
From  seeming  evil  worketh  good  for  me. 

And  though  I  weep  because  the  sails  are  tattered, 
Still  will  I  cry,  while  my  best  hopes  lie  shattered, 
"  I  trust  in  Thee  !  " 

We  are  not  wandering  in  darkness  and  forgetful- 
ness  ;  ,we  are  not  cast  into  the  midst  of  confusions 
and  undirected  turmoils  of  life.  Thou  sittest  re- 
gent :  all  things  are  naked  and  open  before  Thee, 
and  Thou  beholdest  the  end  from  the  beginning. 
In  Thy  hand  the  most  complex  things  are  simple  ; 
the  strangest  things  to  our  thought  are  plain  to 
Thine.  Thou  wilt  restrain  the  wrath  of  man,  and 
cause  the  remainder  of  wrath  to  praise  Thee ; 
and  the  things  that  run  adverse,  all  those  causes, 
which  conflict  in  time,  we  shall  behold  them  from 
the  other  side  ;  and  in  the  order  of  eternity  all 
things  shall  then  appear  wise,  nothing  fugitive, 
nothing  erratic.  BEECHER. 

Yes  !  I  believe,  and  only  thou 
Canst  give  my  soul  relief : 
Lord  !  to  thy  truth  my  spirit  bow ; 
Help  thou  my  unbelief. 

DR.    JOHN    R.    WREFORD. 
[234] 


Serve  him  with  a  perfect  heart  and  a  willing  mind.     Whereby 
we  may  serve  God  acceptably.  —  Hebrews  \2:  28. 

IF  you  cannot  on  the  ocean 
Sail  among  the  swiftest  fleet, 
Rocking  on  the  highest  billows, 

Laughing  at  the  storms  you  meet, 
You  can  stand  among  the  sailors 
Anchored  yet  within  the  bay ; 
You  can  lend  a  hand  to  help  them, 
As  they  launch  their  boat  away. 

If  you  are  too  weak  to  journey 

Up  the  mountains,  steep  and  high, 
You  can  stand  within  the  valley 

While  the  multitudes  go  by ; 
You  can  chant  in  happy  measure, 

As  they  slowly  pass  along  : 
Though  they  may  forget  the  singer, 

They  will  not  forget  the  song. 

ELLEN   H.  GATES. 

God  is  a  kind  Father.  He  sets  us  all  in  the 
places  where  He  wishes  us  to  be  employed ;  and 
that  employment  is  truly  "  our  Father's  business." 
He  chooses  work  for  every  creature  which  will  be 
delightful  to  them,  if  they  do  it  simply  and  humbly. 
He  gives  us  always  strength  enough,  and  sense 
enough,  for  what  He  wants  us  to  do ;  if  we  either 
tire  ourselves  or  puzzle  ourselves,  it  is  our  own 
fault.  RUSKIN. 

[235] 


Pleasant  words  are  as  a  honeycomb,  sweet  to  the  soul  and 
health  to  the  bones.  —  Proverbs  1 6 :  24. 

An   Open  Secret. 

LAUGH,  my  young  daughters,  and  keep  your 
hearts  gay  — 

The  secret  of  happiness  lies 
In  holding  the  sunshine  and  driving  away 

The  shadows  that  sometimes  arise.. 
Remember  this  truth  in  your  childhood  years  — 
That  laughter  is  better  than  tears. 

This  to  you,  maidens  —  'tis  sunshine  that  wins. 

The  light  of  a  true,  loving  heart  — 
Shining  out  through  eyes  that  doubt  never  dims  — 

Is  the  secret  of  beauty's  art. 
'Tis  also  the  secret  of  love,  my  dears, 
For  smiles  are  more  potent  than  tears. 

ROSE   HARTWICK  THORPE. 

I  am  asked  how  I  have  found  life  to  be  ?  I  have 
found  life  good.  It  has  been  good  always  —  in 
poverty  or  wealth,  in  joy  or  sorrow,  tenting  awhile 
or  wandering  about.  I  have  found  life  a  war- 
fare, but  the  weapons  provided  were  sufficient 
for  victory.  And  the  God  of  my  childhood  has 
been  the  Guard  and  Guide  of  my  youth,  and  the 
friend  of  my  gray  hairs. 

AMELIA   A.    BARR. 


flugutf 


£/«/0  /Itar,  O  Lord,  do  I  lift  up  my  soul.  —  Psalm  25  :  I. 

WE   are   naturally   sluggish   and    grovelling. 
Who  has  not  reason  to  acknowledge  with 
sorrow,  "  My  soul  cleaveth  unto  the  dust  "  ?     It  is 
easy  enough,  in  duty,  to  lift  up  our  hands  and  our 
eyes  and  our  voices,  but  it  is   another   thing   to 
enter  into  the  secret  of  His    tabernacle,  and  to 
hold  intercourse  with   the  God   of  heaven.      Yet 
without  this  a  real  Christian  is  no  more  satisfied 
than   God.     He  will   not   indeed   undervalue   the 
means   of  grace,    or   neglect   public    and    private 
devotion  ;   but  he  is  disappointed  unless  he  can 
lift  up  his  soul  to  God  in  them.     And  this  marks 
the  spiritual  worker  and  worshipper.     He   is  not 
distinguished  by  always  enjoying  liberty  and  fervor 
in  his  holy  exercises,  but  he  mourns  the  want  of 
them  ;    while  the  formalist  looks  no  farther  than 
the  performance    itself.     But   it   is  good  to   draw 
near  to  God.     Then,  there  is  a  sacred  charm  that 
keeps   our   thoughts  from  wandering.      Then,  we 
attend   on    the    Lord  without  distraction.      Then, 
we  feel  no  weariness  of  spirit.     And  our  medita- 
tion of  Him  is  sweet. 
When  such  a  man,  familiar  with  the  skies, 
Has  filled  his  urn  where  those  pure  waters  rise, 
And  once  more  mingles  with  us  meaner  things, 
'Tis  e'en  as  if  an  angel  shook  his  wings  : 
Immortal  fragrance  fills  the  circuit  wide, 
Which  tells  us  whence  his  treasures  are  supplied. 

[237]  WILLIAM   JAY. 


Behold  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock,  —  Revelation  4 :  20 

THE  certainest,  surest  thing  I  know 
Whatever,  what  else,  may  yet  befall, 
Of  blessings  or  bane,  of  weal  or  woe, 

Is  the  truth  that  is  fatefullest  far  of  all, 
That  the  Master  will  knock  at  my  door  some  night, 

And  there,  in  the  silence  hushed  and  dim, 
Will  wait  for  my  coming  with  lamp  and  light, 
To  open  immediately  to  Him. 

I  wonder  if  I  at  His  tap  will  spring 

In  eagerness  up,  and  cross  the  floor, 
With  rapturous  step,  and  freely  fling, 

In  the  murk  of  the  midnight,  wide  the  door ; 
Or  will  there  be  work  to  put  away  ? 

Or  the  taper,  that  burns  too  low,  to  trim? 
Or  something  that  craves  too  much  delay 

To  open  immediately  to  Him? 

If  this  is  the  only  thing  foretold 

Of  all  my  future,  —  then  1  pray, 
That  quietly  watchful,  I  may  hold 

The  key  of  a  golden  faith  each  day 
Fast  shut  in  my  grasp,  that  when  I  hear 

His  step,  be  it  dawn  or  midnight  dim, 
Straightway  may  I  rise  without  a  fear 

And  open  immediately  to  Him. 

MARGARET   J.  PRESTON. 


[238] 


Forgive  us  our  sins  for  we  also  forgive  every  one  that  is 
indebted  to  us.  — S.  Luke  II  :  12  (Revised  Version). 

MEASURE  our  pity,  not  in  our  poor  scale, 
But  in  Thine  own,  which  weighs  eternities; 
We  do  our  little  part,  we  strive,  we  fail ; 
Our  wine  of  charity  has  bitter  lees, 
Our  best  unselfishness  seeks  self  to  please. 

Forgive  us,  Lord,  because  we  have  forgiven, 
Not  as  we  have  forgiven,  is  our  prayer ; 

Earth  is  so  lower  far  than  highest  heaven, 
Man  is  not  even  as  the  angels  are, 
And  Thou  to  angels  art  as  sun  to  star. 

Is  not  forgiveness  the  noblest  exercise  of  the 
soul?  When  the  heart  is  wounded  and  bleeding 
over  the  unfaith  of  some  one  in  whom  we  trusted, 
and  our  whole  world  is  dark  with  the  shadow  that 
has  fallen  upon  us,  then,  if  we  can  say  "  I  forgive," 
the  blessed  dews  of  God's  compassion  may  drop 
upon  our  wounds  until  we  find  them  a  healing 
balm.  And  when  we  have  forgiven,  we  may  ap- 
proach the  divine  Presence  and  implore  forgiveness 
for  our  own  errors  and  offences. 

Endeavor  to  be  patient  in  bearing  with  the  de- 
fects and  infirmities  of  others,  of  what  sort  soever 
they  be;  for  that  thyself  hast  also  many  failings 
which  must  be  borne  with  by  others. 

THOMAS   A    KEMPIS. 
[239] 


By  love  serve  one  another.  —  Galatians  5 :  3. 

SERVICE  and  sacrifice  are  the  natural  language 
of  love.  Other  men  may  have  ambition  for 
themselves,  but  a  Christian  must  do  as  his  Master 
did  —  serve  humanity.  The  life  that  ended  on  the 
Cross,  how  little  it  is  understood  !  How  many 
know  that  there  is  but  one  material  of  which 
a  cross  can  be  made  ?  There  was  never  yet  one 
cross  of  gold  or  silver  or  precious  stones ;  the 
only  material  that  can  get  into  that  shape  is  love ; 
love  that  manifests  itself  in  service  which  will  not 
shrink  from  sacrifice.  The  first  recorded  word  of 
Christ  was  :  "  Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my 
Father's  business?  "  and  His  last :  "  It  is  finished." 
What  lies  between  these  words  ?  Constant  ministry. 
When  He  said,  "  Let  him  that  is  chiefest  among 
you  be  servant  of  all,"  He  outlined  the  form  that 
the  Christ-like  must  take.  AMORY  H.  BRADFORD. 

He  stood  beside  his  fellow-man  and  asked 

"  What  need'st  thou  ?  " —  then  gave  with  freest  hand  ; 

But  not  of  gold  alone  ;  the  greater  part 

Of  what  he  gave  was  as  the  quiet  rain 

That  blesseth  all  the  thirsty  ground  —  it  fell 

And  quenched  the  sorrows  in  a  thousand  hearts 

With  sympathy  and  love  unspeakable. 

He  held  all  things  in  trust  for  God ;  each  day 
Was  filled  with  kindnesses  that  live  and  move 
And  gather  majesty.  w.  BRADVVAY. 

[240] 


* 

/y  days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle.  —  Job  7  :  6. 

Recompense. 

THROUGH  the  long  tiresome  day  she  went 
With  quiet  sweetness,  everywhere  ; 
I  watched  her  tender,  tireless  hands, 

Caressing  here,  relieving  there  ; 
No  recompense,  no  answering  smile, 
No  words  of  cheer  were  hers  the  while. 

"  Tell  me,  thou  patient  one,"  I  cried, 
"  What  secret  hope  sustains  thy  heart, 

That  through  a  thankless  ministry 
So  gentle  unto  all  thou  art  ?  " 

She  turned  on  me  her  soft  eye's  light ; 

"  I  heed  them  not.     He  comes  to-night." 

O  soul,  whose  hope  is  high  as  heaven, 

Cease  thy  unprofitable  plaint ! 
A  watcher,  waiting  for  the  Lord, 

How  canst  thou  grieve,  how  dar'st  thou  faint  ? 
Work  on,  rejoice,  while  yet  'tis  light, 
Thy  Bridegroom's  voice  may  call  to-night. 

A  day  of  toil  —  what  matters  it  ? 

So  short  this  life  of  tears  and  pain. 
Lift  up  thy  face  !     What  dost  thou  fear? 

Thou  hast  not  given  thine  all  in  vain. 
Soon  thou  shalt  walk  with  Him  in  white, 
Who  knoweth?     It  may  be  to-night. 

ADELAIDE   ALLISON. 
[241] 


- 

Let  every  man  take  heed  how  he  buildeth.  —  I  Corinthians  3 :  10. 


The  Builder. 

I  HAVE  laid  each  stone  in  its  measured  space, 
Turret,  and  tower,  and  stair, 
Pillars  and  carvings  that  stand  on  their  face ; 
And  I  know  that  my  work  is  fair. 

Yet  the  doubt  of  its  beauty  and  worth  grows  strong, 

Now  that  my  work  is  done  ; 
And  I  find  the  thought  I  have  held  so  long 

Not  worthy  to  stand  in  stone. 

And  the  question  comes,  as  its  towers  beam  high 

O'er  the  lower  walls  of  the  town, 
Have  I  raised  earth's  dirt  to  thy  feet,  O  sky, 

Or  dragged  thy  crystal  down? 

ANNA   ROBESON    BROWN. 

It  is  not  by  regretting  what  is  irreparable  that 
true  work  is  to  be  done,  but  by  making  the  best 
of  what  we  are.  It  is  not,  by  complaining  that  we 
have  not  the  right  tools,  but  by  using  well  the  tools 
we  have.  What  we  are,  and  where  we  are,  is  God's 
providential  arrangement,  —  God's  doing,  though 
it  may  be  man's  misdoing ;  and  the  manly  and 
wise  way  is  to  look  your  failures  in  the  face,  and 
see  what  can  be  made  out  of  them. 

F.  W.  ROBERTSON. 

[242] 


flugtitf 


7  w0.r  an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me  meat,  I  was  thirsty  and 
ye  gave  me  drink.  —  S.  Matthew  25  :  35. 

BE  assured  that  in  lowly  service  the  highest 
treasures  of  life  will  be  reckoned.  An  emi- 
nent man  was  once  asked,  "  What  incident  in  your 
life  has  made  the  most  lasting  impression  upon 
your  mind?"  It  was  expected  that  he  would 
recur  to  some  circumstance  of  worldly  distinction, 
for  he  had  associated  with  both  civil  and  commer- 
cial princes.  He  replied  that  the  only  thing  he 
remembered  worth  mentioning  was  the  giving  a 
breakfast  to  a  poor  working-girl  who  had  lost  her 
purse.  "  I  can  never  forget,"  he  said,  "  the  look 
of  sweet  humility  with  which  she  said,  '  I  cannot 
pay  ;  I  can  only  thank  you,  and  pray  for  you.' 
Her  voice  was  like  that  of  a  little  child  saying  its 
evening  prayer,  and  I  felt  that  it  was  she  who  was 
giving,  and  I  was  receiving."  And  I  fancy  when 
life's  course  has  been  run  with  us  and  we  have 
entered,  as  God  grant  we  may,  into  the  Paradise 
above,  if  any  one  shall  ask  us  what  incident  in  our 
earth-life  made  the  strongest  impression  upon  us, 
we  wilt  recall  some  occasion  when  we  put  forth 
our  hands  for  the  help  of  the  needy,  when  the 
"  blessing  of  Him  who  was  ready  to  perish  "  came 
upon  us. 

"  The  Holy  Supper  is  kept,  indeed, 
In  whatso  we  share  with  another's  need. 

J.  T.  McFARLAND. 
[243] 


v4i   yfrr   me   I  will  behold    thy  face  -in   righteousness. — 
Psalm  17 :  15. 

WE  will  behold  His  face,  and  oh,  what  will 
that  mean  to  us?  When  the  tides  of 
God's  nature  shall  sweep  through  ours,  when  1 1  is 
light  shall  shine  through  our  glorified  souls,  when 
all  our  tastes  are  quickened  and  exalted,  when  our 
natures  are  purified  and  redeemed,  when  we  rise 
from  blessing  to  blessing  and  glory  to  glory,  and 
know  the  eternal  life  in  all  its  fulness,  then  and 
not  until  then,  will  we  comprehend  what  it  means 
to  "behold  His  face." 

There  is  that  in  our  natures  which  longs  for 
the  visible  presence  of  God  —  and  then  it  will 
be  satisfied.  We  are  like  children  waking  in  the 
night  and  calling  for  a  light  that  we  may  see  our 
Father's  face.  Now,  we  hold  His  hand  and  grope 
after  Him  in  the  dark,  but  then  we  will  indeed 
"  behold  His  face." 

"  Under  the  grand  green  palms  of  heaven 

I  yet  shall  walk, 

With  the  good  and  the  wise  of  the  ages  past 
Shall  some  day  talk. 

"  I  shall  lay  my  cross  at  the  gate  of  pearl 

And  take  my  crown, 

And  then  at  the  shining  feet  of  my  Lord 
Shall  cast  it  clown." 


[244] 


y 


/OUI 


life  prom  day 
ho  day 


L 

Mormon  i  oqM 


fl 


ow 


Borna. 


, 


9 
jjiinti) 


Keep  not  silence  :     O  Lord,  be  not  far  from  me.  —  Psalm 
25  :  22. 

"yiy'  HAT  is  the  saddest,  sweetest,  lowest  sound 
ill      Nearest  akin  to  perfect  silence  ?     Not 

The  delicate  whisper  sometimes  in  the  hot 
Autumnal  morning  heard  the  corn-fields  round  ; 
Nor  yet  to  lonely  man,  now  almost  bound 

By  slumber,  near  his  house  a  murmuring  river 
Buzzing  and  droning  o'er  the  shores  forever. 
Not  such  faint  voice  of  Autumn  oat-encrowned, 
And  not  such  liquid  murmur,  O  my  heart  ! 

But  tears  that  drop  o'er  graves,  and  sins,  and  fears, 
A  sound  the  very  weeper  scarcely  hears, 
A  music  in  which  silence  hath  some  part. 
O  Thou,  all  gentle,  who  all-hearing  art, 

Hold  not  Thy  peace,  sweet  Saviour,  at  my  tears  ! 

WILLIAM   ALEXANDER. 

I  never  think  of  the  silences  of  God  without  think- 
ing how  great  is  the  delight  which  comes  when  any 
man  discovers  that  God  really  has  been  answering 
him  all  the  time  when  he  thought  that  his  prayers 
were  all  unheard.  That  must  be  one  of  the  most 
exquisite  joys  of  heaven.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

[245] 


September 


He  that  abide  fh  in  me,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit.  — 
S.  John  15:  5. 

FRUIT  first,  Joy  next  ;  the  one  the  cause  or 
medium  of  the  other.  Fruit-bearing  is  the 
necessary  antecedent;  and  Joy  the  necessary  con- 
sequent. It  lies  partly  in  the  bearing  fruit,  partly 
in  the  fellowship  which  makes  that  possible.  Joy 
lies  in  mere  constant  living  in  the  presence  of 
Christ,  with  all  that  that  implies  of  peace,  of  shel- 
ter, and  of  love,  and  in  the  inspiration  to  live  and 
work  for  others. 

There  is  no  mystery  about  Happiness.  Put  in 
the  right  ingredients  and  it  must  come  out.  He 
that  abideth  in  Him  will  bring  forth  much  fruit  ; 
and  bringing  forth  much  fruit  is  Happiness. 

Fill  up  each  hour  with  what  will  last  ; 

Buy  up  the  moments  as  they  go  ; 
The  life  above  when  this  is  past 

Is  the  ripe  fruit  of  life  below. 

Sow  truth  if  thou  the  truth  wouldst  reap  ; 

Who  sows  the  false  shall  reap  the  vain  ; 
Erect  and  sound  the  conscience  keep, 

From  hollow  words  and  deeds  refrain. 

Sow  love,  and  taste  its  fruitage  pure  ; 

Sow  peace,  and  reap  its  harvest  bright  ; 
Sow  sunbeams  on  the  rock  and  moor, 
And  find  a  harvest  home  of  light. 

E.  BONAR. 
[246] 


Redeem  the  time.  — ^phesians  5:16. 

While  We  May. 

THE  hands  are  such  dear  hands  ; 
They  are  so  full,  they  turn  at  our  demands 
So  often  ;  they  reach  out 
With  trifles  scarcely  thought  about,  — 
If  their  fond  wills  mistake 
We  well  may  bend,  not  break. 

They  are  such  fond,  frail  lips 

That  speak  to  us.     Pray  if  love  strips 

Them  of  deception  many  times, 

Or  if  they  speak  too  slow,  or  quick,  such  crimes 
We  may  pass  by ;  for  we  may  see 
Days  not  far  off  when  those  small  words  may  be 

Held  not  as  slow,  or  quick,  or  out  of  place,  but  dear 

Because  the  lips  are  no  more  here. 

They  are  such  dear,  familiar  feet  that  go 
Along  the  path  with  ours  —  feet,  fast  or  slow, 

And  trying  to  keep  pace  —  if  they  mistake 

And  tread  upon  some  flower  that  we  would  take 
Upon  our  heart,  or  bruise  some  reed, 
Or  crush  poor  hope  until  it  bleed, 

We  may  be  mute 

Nor  turning  quickly  to  impute 
Grave  faults  ;  for  they  and  we 
Have  such  a  little  way  to  go  —  can  be 

Together  such  a  little  while  upon  the  way, 

We  will  be  patient  while  we  may. 
[247] 


This  is  the  whole  duty  of  man.  —  Ecclesiastes  22  :  13. 

% 

THE  world  now  as  ever  needs  not  so  much 
men  of  genius  and  brilliancy,  as  men  who 
are  sternly  and  unswervingly  loyal  to  duty.  The 
word  which  Wellington,  the  great  and  invincible 
"  Iron  Duke,"  kept  always  before  him,  was  DUTY  ; 
the  word  which,  like  a  bright  but  delusive  ignis 
fatitus,  was  forever  before  the  mind  of  Napoleon, 
was  GLORY.  The  glory  of  Napoleon  went  out  sud- 
denly and  forever  like  the  flash  of  a  meteor ;  while 
the  name  of  Wellington  will  stand  through  all  the 
centuries  for  those  elements  by  which  men  and 
nations  are  made  strong. 

The  path  of  Duty  is  the  way  to  Glory, 
He  that  walks  it,  only  thirsting 
For  the  right,  and  learns  to  deaden 
Love  of  self,  before  his  journey  closes 
He  shall  find  the  stubborn  thistle  bursting 
Into  glossy  purples,  which  out-redden 
All  voluptuous  roses. 

J.  T.  McFARLAND. 

One's  first  duty  is  the  one  that  lies  nearest. 

Oh  !  what  a  glory  doth  this  world  put  on 
For  him  who,  with  a  fervent  heart,  goes  forth 
Under  the  bright  and  glorious  sky,  and  looks 
On  duties  well  performed  and  days  well  spent ! 

LONGFELLOW. 

[248] 


jfiftl) 

That  -whether  we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should  live  together  with 
him.  —  I  Thessalonians  5:  10. 

GOD'S  children  live  with  Him  now,  but  not  as 
they  will  live  with  Him  hereafter.  Now  He 
is  invisible  ;t  then  they  will  see  Him  as  He  is.  Now 
their  intercourse  with  Him  is  mediate,  and  often 
interrupted ;  then  it  will  be  immediate  and  free 
from  any  annoyance.  Now  they  are  with  Him  in 
the  wilderness ;  then  they  will  be  with  Him  in  the 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Now  they 
groan,  being  burdened  with  infirmities,  cares,  and 
troubles ;  then  they  will  be  presented  faultless 
before  the  presence  of  His  glory,  with  exceeding 
joy.  Yet,  whether  they  wake  or  sleep,  they  live 
together  with  Him.  Here  is  your  happiness,  Chris- 
.tian.  It  is  your  union  with  Christ. 

And  therefore  whatever  be  your  circumstances, 
you  may  boldly  say,  "  Nevertheless  I  am  continually 
with  Thee  ;  Thou  hast  holden  me  by  my  right  hand." 

"  Forever  with  the  Lord  ! " 

Amen,  so  let  it  be  ! 
Life  from  the  dead  is  in  that  word, 

'Tis  immortality. 

No  cloud  those  regions  know, 
Realms  ever  bright  and  fair ; 

For  sin,  the  source  of  mortal  woe, 
Can  never  enter  there. 

MONTGOMERY. 

[249] 


Hold  fast  till  I  come.  —  Revelation  2 :  2$. 

Paradise. 

WE  do  not  know  how  far  it  lies, 
Beneath  what  bending  sapphire  skies, 
Through  what  unmeasurable  deeps  of  space 
May  be  thy  mystic,  heavenly  place, 
But  to  our  lips  these  words  arise, 
"  We're  on  our  way  to  Paradise  !  " 

Oh,  land  beyond  our  fading  sight ! 

Oh,  realm  which  ne'er  had  known  the  night ! 

Oh,  rest  of  heart  and  peace  of  soul  ! 

Into  our  trembling  lives  doth  roll 

The  thought  of  all  that  grand  surprise 

Awaiting  us  in  Paradise  ! 

The  glimpse  of  far-off,  hopeless  years, 

With  twilight  gleams  of  stars,  through  tears, 

Recalls  a  foregone  life  again, 

With  shock  of  tempest-doubt  and  pain, 

As  from  this  spirit-level's  rise 

We  think  "  Not  far  from  Paradise  !  " 

Not  far  !  Ah  no  !  A  prophecy 

Floats  on  the  air  of  what  shall  be  ! 

The  incense,  music,  tint,  and  gleam 

Float  o'er  the  walls  —  blend  in  the  dream  — 

Flood  through  the  veins,  brim  up  the  eyes, 

Till  souls  cry  out,  "  Blest  Paradise  ! " 

[250] 


September 


Ye  call  >ne  blaster  and  Lord  :  and  ye  say  well  ;  for  so  I  am. 
S.  John  13:  13. 


IN  our  most  exalted  moods  we  ought  to  be  the 
most  ready  to  render  the  lowliest  service  to  our 
fellow-men.  The  proof  that  we  have  the  divine 
fellowship,  the  evidence  that  we  have  the  Holy 
Spirit  dwelling  within  us,  should  appear  in  the 
promptness  and  gladness  with  which  we  discharge 
the  offices  of  a  servant.  It  is  significant  that 
Christ  never  commands  us  to  do  those  things  which 
men  consider  great,  that  He  never  holds  up  for 
admiration  the  things  which  the  world  applauds  ; 
but,  over  and  over  again,  He  lays  stress  upon  those 
small  deeds  of  kindness  which  it  is  possible  for 
every  one  to  perform,  but  which  are  counted  insig- 
nificant in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  In  that  wonder- 
ful foreview  which  He  gives  of  the  final  judgment, 
He  does  not  recite  the  great  and  distinguished 
things  which  the  righteous  have  done.  But  He 
speaks  of  those  things  which  lie  within  the  possi- 
bility for  every  man  and  woman.  "  I  was  an  hun- 
gered and  ye  gave  me  meat  ;  I  was  thirsty  and  ye 
gave  me  drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger  and  ye  took  me 
in  :  naked  and  ye  clothed  me  :  I  was  sick  and  ye 
visited  me  ;  I  was  in  prison  and  ye  came  unto  me." 
"  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of 
these  My  brethren,  ye  did  it  to  Me." 

J.  T.  McFARLAND. 


Being  dead  yet  speaketh.  —  Hebrews  11:4. 

A  NYTHING  the  dead  leave  unfinished,  makes 
lT\.  one  feel  the  nothingness  of  human  purposes  ! 
I  remember  the  pain  in  which  I  once  saw  what 
would  have  been  a  beautiful  picture,  only  it  was 
not  finished  ;  for  the  painter  had  died  suddenly. 
And  there  was  a  statue  which  was  just  being 
brought  out  of  the  marble  when  the  artist  died. 
Whatever  purpose  death  cuts  a  man  off  from  has 
for  his  surviving  friends  a  look,  as  though  it  had 
been  shone  on  by  light,  not  of  this  world. 

MOUNTFORD. 

This  is  the  prerogative  of  the  noblest  natures,  — 
that  their  death  exercises  a  no  less  blessed  influ- 
ence than  did  their  life ;  that  they  lighten  us  from 
above,  like  stars  by  which  to  steer  our  course. 

GOETHE. 

And  now,  sometimes,  from  upper  heights, 

From  spaces  wide  and  blue, 
The  echoes  of  the  voice  we  loved 

Floats  down  to  us  anew ; 
"  We  hail  thee,  comrade,"  comes  the  word 

And  swift  the  answer  flies, 
As  evermore  we  send  response 

"  We  hail  thee  in  the  skies." 

MARTHA   CAPPS   OLIVER. 


[252] 


Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work,  —  James  1 :  4. 


MANY  a  one  is  asking  in  the  midst  of  hard- 
ship and  sorrow,  "Is  life  worth  living?" 
We  must  not  be  swept  away  by  such  thoughts. 
Ours  is  a  God-given  life,  and  every  soul  is  precious 
in  His  sight. 

Why  was  I  born?  God,  who  never  made  a 
human  being  without  some  purpose,  plans  a  high 
destiny  for  every  one  of  us.  Beautiful  fabrics  are 
woven  by  weavers  who  never  see  their  work  but  on 
the  wrong  side.  They  sit  before  the  loom  with 
rough  edges  always  before  them.  But  the  master- 
workman  knows  just  what  he  wants  ;  he  has  chosen 
the  pattern  and  set  the  weaver  at  work,  and  by  and 
by,  when  the  tapestry  is  finished,  the  workman  is 
astonished  at  the  beauty  his  own  hands  have 
created. 

We  have  the  pattern  of  a  perfect  character  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  sets  us  at  the  task  of 
weaving  from  that  pattern  every  day.  "  How  dis- 
appointing and  wearisome  is  my  life  !  "  we  say. 
Where  is  the  use  in  this  monotonous  round?  But 
if  our  eyes  are  upon  the  pattern,  and  we  faithfully 
obey  orders,  though  we  may  not  see  now  how  the 
right  side  looks,  it  will  be  a  glad  surprise  when  it  is 
finished. 


[253] 


September 


Light  is  sown  for  ike  righteous,  and  gladness  for  the  upright 
in  heart.  —  Psalm  97  :  II. 

WHAT  inexpressible  joy  for  me,  to  look  up 
through  the  apple-blossoms  and  the  flutter- 
ing leaves,  and  to  see  God's  love  there  ;  to  listen  to 
the  thrush  that  has  built  his  nest  there,  and  to  feel 
God's  love  who  cares  for  the  birds,  in  every  note 
that  swells  his  little  throat  ;  to  look  beyond  to  the 
light  blue  depths  of  the  sky,  and  feel  they  are  a 
canopy  of  blessing,  —  the  roof  of  the  house  of  my 
Father  ;  that  if  clouds  pass  over  it,  it  is  the  un- 
changeable light  they  veil  ;  that,  even  when  the  day 
itself  passes,  I  shall  see,  that  the  night  itself  only 
unveils  new  worlds  of  light  ;  and  to  know  if  I  could 
unwrap  fold  after  fold  of  God's  universe,  I  should 
unfold  only  more  and  more  blessing,  and  see 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  love  which  is  at  the 
heart  of  all.  ELIZABETH  CHARLES. 

There  are  in  this  loud  stunning  tide 

Of  human  care  and  crime, 
With  whom  the  melodies  abide 

Of  th'  everlasting  chime  ; 
Who  carry  music  in  their  heart 
Through  dusty  lane  and  wrangling  mart, 

Plying  their  daily  task  with  busier  feet, 

Because  their  secret  souls  a  holy  strain  repeat. 

KEBLE. 

[254] 


Singing  and  making  melody  in  your  heart  to  the  Lord.  — . 
Ephesians  5  :  19. 

SING  !  as  the  birds  shall  teach  thee 
A  song  of  love  and  trust ; 
Sing  !  till  the  world  shall  listen, 
Till  thine  own  eyes  shall  glisten 
As  joy  or  grief  shall  reach  thee, 

As  a  true  singer  must ; 
May  the  brave  music  swelling, 
From  thy  good  heart  upwelling, 
Its  message  still  be  telling 

Long  after  thou  art  dust. 

Sing  !  for  the  world  is  weary 

With  burden  of  its  care  ; 
And  men  are  heavy-hearted, 
Perplexed,  misjudged,  and  thwarted, 
And  sin  has  made  life  dreary, 

Temptation  everywhere ; 
Sing  !  as  true  singer  may, 
Driving  these  clouds  away 
With  promises  of  day 

Whose  coming  shall  be  fair. 

God  sent  His  singers  upon  earth 

With  songs  of  sadness  and  of  mirth, 

That  they  might  touch  the  hearts  of  men 
And  bring  them  back  to  heaven  again. 

LONGFELLOW. 

[255] 


How  beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  who  bring  glad  tidings  of 
good  things.  —  Isaiah  52 :  7. 

ONCE  the  question  was  asked,  "  Wherefore 
wilt  thou  run,  my  son,  seeing  that  thou  hast 
no  tidings  ready?"  If  we  want  to  have  beautiful 
feet,  we  must  have  tidings  ready  which  they  are  to 
bear.  If  the  clouds  be  full  of  rain,  they  empty 
themselves  upon  the  earth.  There  are  plenty  of 
cups  of  cold  water  to  be  carried  in  all  directions  ; 
not  to  the  poor  only,  —  ministries  of  love  are  often 
as  much  needed  by  a  rich  friend.  In  such  ser- 
vices we  are  treading  in  the  blessed  footsteps  of 
His  most  holy  life,  who  "went  about  doing  good  !  " 

HAVERGAL. 

He  hath  said,  "  How  beautiful  the  feet !  " 
The  feet  so  weary,  travel-stained,  and  worn  — 
The  feet  that  humbly,  patiently  have  borne 

The  toilsome  way,  the  pressure,  and  the  heat. 

The  feet,  not  hastening  on  with  winged  flight, 
Nor  strong  to  trample  down  the  opposing  foe  ; 
So  lowly,  and  so  human,  they  must  go 

By  painful  steps  to  scale  the  mountain  height. 

Not  unto  all  the  tuneful  lips  are  given, 

The  ready  tongue,  the  words  so  strong  and  sweet ; 

Yet  all  may  turn,  with  humble,  willing  feet, 
And  bear  to  darkened  souls  the  light  of  heaven. 

SARAH   GERALDINE   STOCK. 
[256] 


He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions.  —  Isaiah  53 :  5. 

O  CHRIST,  what  burdens  bowed  Thy  head  ! 
Our  load  was  laid  on  Thee  ; 
Thou  stood'st  in  the  sinner's  stead, 

Did'st  bear  all  ill  for  me. 
A  Victim  led,  Thy  blood  was  shed ; 
Now  there's  no  load  for  me. 

Jehovah  lifted  up  His  rod  — 

O  Christ,  it  falls  on  Thee  ! 
Thou  wast  sore  stricken  of  Thy  God  ; 

There's  not  one  stroke  for  me. 
Thy  tears,  Thy  blood  beneath  it  flowed, 

Thy  bruising  healeth  me. 

MARY   A.  R.  COUSIN. 

With  silent,  soft,  and  mighty  pressure,  the  sight 
of  the  Sufferer's  holiness,  and  the  gratitude  for  the 
Sufferer's  pity,  as  one  complete  power,  one  perfect 
love,  has  drawn  the  depths  of  men's  lives  on  to  the 
nature  of  the  Sufferer,  and  there  their  oneness  to 
Him  has  become  known  to  them,  and  they,  in  and 
through  Him,  have  been  renewed  into  the  image 
of  their  Father,  and  His  Father.  The  robber  who 
was  crucified  with  Him  felt  that  power  first.  It 
was  a  baptism  of  blood,  and  the  power  which  our 
baptisms  re-echo  found  its  first  utterance  in  Him. 
"  Being  by  nature,  born  in  sin  and  the  child  of 
wrath,"  there  by  the  fellowship  of  suffering,  there 
by  the  power  of  love  ...  he  was  made  the  child 
of  grace.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

•          [257] 


Wherefore  have  ye  not  fulfilled  your  task? —  Exodus  5  :  14. 

THERE  is  some  duty  which  God  has  made 
ready  for  you  to  do  to-day  !  He  has  built 
it  like  a  house  for  you  to  occupy.  You  have  not 
to  build  it.  He  has  built  it,  and  He  will  lead  you 
up  to  its  door  and  set  you  with  your  feet  upon  its 
threshold.  Will  you  go  in  and  occupy  it?  Will 
you  do  the  duty  which  He  has  made  ready?  Per- 
haps it  is  the  great  comprehensive  duty  of  the 
consecration  of  yourself  to  Him.  Perhaps  it  is 
some  special  task.  Whatever  it  is,  may  He  who 
anticipated  your  love  by  His  own  in  giving  you  the 
task,  now  help  you  to  fulfil  His  love  with  yours  by 
doing  it.  Amen.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

Oh,  how  many  deeds 
Of  deathless  virtue  and  immortal  good 
The  world  had  wanted,  had  the  actor  said 

"  I  will  do  this  to-morrow  !  " 

LORD  JOHN   RUSSELL. 

And  as  the  path  of  duty  is  made  plain 

May  grace  be  given  that  I  may  walk  therein, 

Not  like  the  hireling,  for  his  selfish  gain, 

With  backward  glances,  and  reluctant  tread, 

Making  a  merit  of  his  coward  dread,  — 

But,  cheerful  in  the  light  around  me  thrown, 

Walking  as  one  to  pleasant  service  led  ; 

Doing  God's  will  as  if  it  were  my  own, 

Yet  trusting  not  in  mine,  but  in  His  strength  alone. 

[258]  WHITTIER. 


For  who  hath  despised  the  day  of  small  things.  — -Zechariah 
4:  10. 

OPRINGS  are  little  things,  but  they  are  sources 
w_3  of  large  streams ;  a  helm  is  a  little  thing,  but 
it  governs  the  course  of  a  large  ship  ;  a  bridle-bit 
is  a  small  thing,  but  see  its  use  and  power ;  nails 
and  pegs  are  little  things,  but  they  hold  parts  of 
large  buildings  together ;  a  word,  a  look,  a  frown, 
are  all  little  things,  but  powerful  for  good  or  evil. 
Think  of  this,  and  mind  the  little  things.  Pay  that 
little  debt  —  its  pjomise  redeem.  Little  acts  are 
elements  of  true  greatness.  .  .  .  They  are  tests  of 
character  and  disinterestedness.  They  are  the 
straws  upon  life's  deceitful  current,  and  show  the 
current's  way.  The  heart  comes  all  out  in  them. 
They  move  on  the  dial  of  character  and  responsi- 
bility significantly.  They  indicate  the  character 
and  destiny.  They  help  to  make  the  immortal 
man.  It  matters  not  so  much  where  we  are  as 
what  we  are.  It  is  seldom  the  acts  of  moral 
heroism  are  called  for.  Rather  the  real  heroism 
of  life  is,  to  do  all  its  little  duties  promptly  and 
faithfully.  ROYAL  PATH  OF  LIFE. 

The  lives  which  seem  so  poor,  so  low, 

The  hearts  which  are  so  cramped  and  dull, 

The  baffled  hopes,  the  impulse  slow, 
Thou  takest,  touchest  all,  and  lo  ! 
They  blossom  to  the  beautiful. 

SUSAN   COOLIDGE. 

[259] 


September 


The  Lord  have  patience  with  me.  —  S.  Matthew  18:  26. 

THE  soul  loses  command  of  itself  when  it  is 
impatient.  Whereas,  when  it  submits  with- 
out a  murmur,  it  possesses  itself  in  peace,  and 
possesses  God.  To  be  impatient,  is  to  desire  what 
we  have  not,  or  not  to  desire  what  we  have.  When 
we  acquiesce  in  an  evil,  it  is  no  longer  such. 
Why  make  a  real  calamity  of  it  by  resistance? 
Peace  does  not  dwell  in  outward  things,  but  within 
the  soul.  We  may  preserve  it  in  the  midst  of 
bitterest  pain,  if  our  will  remains  firm  and  sub- 
missive. Peace  in  this  life  springs  from  acquies- 
cence even  in  disagreeable  things,  not  in  an 
exemption  from  bearing  them.  FENELON. 

Oh  !  lose  not  patience,  weary  heart  ! 

Tangled  life's  web  may  seem  ; 
But  thread  by  thread  the  Master's  hand 

Unravels  what  we  deem 
Inextricable  ;  then  we  see 
How  skilled  a  guide  that  hand  must  be. 

And  so  in  faith  we  day  by  day 

Take  both  the  toil  and  pain, 
Knowing  the  work  and  warfare  each 

Shall  end  in  heavenly  gain, 
And  those  who  have  through  patience  won, 
Shall  hear  the  Master's  word,  "Well  done  !" 

G.    M.  TAYLOR. 

[260] 


To  do  my  duly  in  that  state  of  life  unto  which  it  shall  please 
God  to  call  me.  — •  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

"AT  7HO   speaks   for   this    man?"     From   the 

VV     great  white  throne, 

Veiled  in  its  roseate  clouds,  the  voice  came  forth  ; 
Before  it  stood  a  parted  soul  alone. 

And  rolling  east  and  west,  and  south  and  north, 
The  mighty  accents  summoned  quick  and  dead  ; 
"  Who  speaks  for  this  man,  ere  his  doom  be  said  ?  " 

Shivering  he  listened,  for  his  early  life 
Had  passed  in  dull,  unnoted  calm,  away ; 

He  brought  no  glory  to  his  early  strife, 
No  wreath  of  fame,  or  genius'  fiery  ray ; 

Weak,  lone,  ungifted,  quiet,  and  obscure, 

Born  in  the  shadow,  dying  'mid  the  poor. 

Lo  !  from  the  solemn  concourse,  hushed  and  dim, 
The  widow's  prayer,  the  orphan's  blessing  rose  ; 

The  struggler  told  of  trouble  shared  by  him, 

The  lonely  of  cheered  hours  and  softened  woes  ; 

And  like  a  chorus  spake  the  crushed  and  sad, 

"  He  gave  us  all  he  could  and  all  he  had." 

And  little  words  of  loving-kindness  said, 

And  tender  thoughts,  and  help  in  time  of  need, 

Sprang  up  like  leaves  by  soft  spring  showers  fed, 
In  some  waste  corner,  sown  by  chance-flung  seed. 

In  grateful  wonder  heard  the  modest  soul, 

Such  trifles  gathered  to  so  blest  a  whole. 

ALT,  THE  YEAR  ROUND. 
[261] 


I  am  their  music. —  Lamentations  3:  63. 

WHEN  troubles  come,  go  at  them  with  songs. 
When  griefs  arise,  sing  them  down.     Lift 
the  voice    of  praise   against   care.     They  sing   in 
heaven,  and  among  God's  people  on  earth ;  song 
is  the  appropriate  language  of  Christian  people. 

BEECHER. 

Music  should  strike  fire  from  the  heart  of  man 
and  bring  tears  from  the  eyes  of  woman. 

BEETHOVEN. 

What  martial  music  is  to  marching  men,  should 
song  be  to  humanity.  ALEXANDER  SMITH. 

I  stand  by  every  word  I  utter  when  I  sing,  and 
feel  that  I  must  to  the  death.  It  is  not  alone  song 
with  me,  —  melodious  sounds,  —  it  is  the  lesson 
inculcated  ;  hope  in  the  future,  bright  joys  to  come, 
the  mercy  of  an  all -wise  God.  I  would  not  sing 
a  frivolous  word  before  my  audience  for  anything 
on  earth.  ANTOINETTE  STERLING. 

The  glory  of  heaven, 

The  sorrow  of  earth, 
Were  breathed  in  one  whisper, 

When  music  had  birth. 

God  set  a  harp  in  nature's  beating  breast ; 

The  secret  of  the  music  yet  to  be 
Lay  latent  in  the  strings.     At  His  behest 

Love  breathed  upon  the  wires  and  set  it  free. 

[262] 


I  am  the  good  shepherd ' :  the  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for 
his  sheep.  —  S.  John  10 :  2. 

HIS  life  "  for  thee  "  !  Oh,  wonderful  gift !  not 
promised,  but  given;  not  to  friends,  but  to 
enemies.  Given  without  condition,  without  reserve, 
without  return.  Himself  unknown  and  unloved, 
His  gift  unsought  and  unasked,  He  gave  His  life 
for  thee  ;  a  more  than  royal  bounty  —  the  greatest 
gift  that  Deity  could  devise.  Oh,  grandeur  of 
love  !  "  I  lay  down  My  life  for  the  sheep  !  "  And 
we  for  whom  He  gave  it  have  held  back,  and  hesi- 
tated to  give  our  lives,  not  even  for  Him  (He  has 
not  asked  us  to  do  that),  but  to  Him  !  But  that 
is  past,  and  He  has  tenderly  pardoned  the  unloving, 
ungrateful  reserve,  and  has  graciously  accepted  the 
poor  little  fleeting  breath  and  speck  of  dust  which 
was  all  we  had  to  offer.  And  now  His  precious 
death  and  His  glorious  life  are  all  "  for  thee." 

HAVERGAL. 

I  gave  My  life  for  thee, 

My  precious  blood  I  spilt 
That  thou  might  ransomed  be 

And  saved  from  woe  and  guilt. 
I  gave  My  life  for  thee  — 

What  hast  thou  given  for  Me? 

May  we  set  before  us  Thine  own  image,  calmly 
beholding  us,  and  forever  looking  forth  upon  the 
strife  of  life,  not  indifferent  to  its  least  act ;  and 
may  we  live  as  seeing  Thee  who  art  invisible. 

[263] 


Seekest  thou  great  tilings  for  thyself?      Seek  them   not.  — 
Jeremiah   14:  5. 

OH  !  to  be  nothing  —  nothing  ! 
Only  to  lie  at  His  feet, 
A  broken  and  emptied  vessel, 

For  the  Master's  use  made  meet ! 
Emptied  that  He  may  fill  me, 

As  forth  to  His  service  I  go ; 
Broken  that  so,  unhindered, 
Through  me  His  life  may  flow. 

Oh  !  to  be  nothing  —  nothing  ! 

An  arrow  hid  in  His  hand, 
Or  a  messenger  at  His  gateway, 

Waiting  for  His  command  ; 
Only  an  instrument,  ready 

For  Him  to  use  at  His  will ; 
And  willing,  should  He  not  require  me, 

In  patience  to  wait  on  Him  still. 

G.   M.    TAYLOR. 

Oh  !  be  little,  be  little ;  and  then  thou  wilt  be 
content  with  little ;  and  if  you  feel,  now  and  then, 
a  check  or  a  secret  smiting,  —  in  that  is  the  Father's 
love ;  be  not  over-wise,  nor  over-eager,  in  thy  own 
willing,  running,  and  desiring,  and  thou  mayst  feel 
it  so ;  and  by  degrees  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
thy  Guide,  who  will  lead  thee,  step  by  step,  in  the 
path  of  life,  and  teach  thee  to  follow.  Be  still, 
and  wait  for  light  and  strength.  i.  PENNINGTON. 
[264] 


D1 


Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God  .  .  .  blot  out  my  transgressions. 
Psalm  51:1. 

kEPTH  of  Mercy,  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me  ? 
Can  my  God  His  wrath  forbear  — 
Me,  the  chief  of  sinners,  spare?" 

The  Salvation  Army  records  tell  how  often  this 
hymn  has  been  sung  in  the  slums  of  London,  and 
how  men  and  women  deep  in  sin,  feeling  that  for 
them  there  could  be  no  forgiveness,  have  heard 
the  message  of  "  salvation  to  the  uttermost,"  sung 
in  this  hymn  and  been  saved  by  it.  Dr.  Lyman 
Abbott  says  :  "  The  man  who  has  committed  a  great 
sin  and  followed  it  with  a  great  repentance,  is  fur- 
ther along  in  the  moral  life  than  the  man  who  has 
never  committed  a  great  sin  and  does  not  know 
that  he  is  a  sinner."  The  outcasts  of  Christ's  time 
were  not  the  men  with  stains  upon  their  garments 
and  with  shame  upon  their  brows ;  they  were  the 
men  and  women  who  did  not  know  that  they  had 
sins  to  be  forgiven.  I  have  read  stories  of  men 
who  were  walled  up  in  some  dungeon  castle  and 
left  to  die  there ;  and  as  I  look  out  in  life,  as  I 
look  sometimes  into  my  own  heart  and  my  own 
life,  it  seems  to  me  that  we  who  preach  the  Gospel 
and  we  who  sit  in  the  pews  and  come  to  the 
prayer- meetings  are  in  danger  of  that  very  doom ; 
we  are  in  danger  of  walling  up  ourselves  through 
our  own  self-satisfaction  and  dying  of  asphyxia. 

[265]         JENNIE  M.  BINGHAM. 


Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice.  —  I  Samuel  15  :  22. 

r  I  "HERE  is  no  action  so  slight  nor  so  mean  but 
A  it  may  be  done  to  a  great  purpose,  and  en- 
nobled therefore ;  nor  is  any  purpose  so  great  but 
that  slight  actions  may  help  it,  and  may  be  so  done 
as  to  help  it  much,  most  especially,  that  chief  of  all 
purposes  —  the  pleasing  of  God.  RUSKIN. 

Not  at  the  battle  front,  writ  of  in  story ; 

Not  on  the  blazing  wreck,  steering  to  glory, 

Not  while  in  martyr-pangs,  soul  and  flesh  sever, 

Died  he  this  hero  new,  hero  forever. 

No  pomp  poetic  crowned,  no  forms  enchained  him, 

No  friends  applauding  watched,  no  foes  arraigned 

him, 

Death  found  him  there,  without  grandeur  or  beauty, 
Only  an  honest  man,  doing  his  duty : 
Death  found  and  touched  with  finger  in  flying : 
Lo  !  he  rose  up  complete  —  hero  undying. 

DINAH   MULOCH   CRAIK. 

It  is  not  the  multitude  of  hard  duties,  it  is  not 
constraint  and  contention  that  advance  us  in  our 
Christian  course.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  yield- 
ing of  our  wills  without  restriction  and  without 
choice,  to  tread  cheerfully  every  day  in  the  path 
in  which  Providence  leads  us,  to  seek  nothing,  to 
be  discouraged  by  nothing,  to  see  our  duty  in  the 
present  moment,  to  trust  all  else  without  reserve 
to  the  will  and  power  of  God.  FENELON. 

[266] 


September 


These  things  saith  he  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  itt  his  right 
hand.  —  Revelation  n  :  I. 

ALL  the  promises  are  "To  him  that  over- 
cometh."  Listen  !  "  He  that  overcometh 
shall  be  clothed  with  white  raiment  and  ...  I 
will  confess  his  name  before  my  Father,  and  before 
the  angels."  "To  him  that  overcometh  will  I 
grant  to  sit  with  Me  in  My  throne,  even  also  as 
I  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in 
His  throne."  "  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit 
all  thmgs,  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be 
My  son."  All  the  symbolisms  of  that  glory  are 
symbolisms  of  victory,  palms,  sceptres,  crowns, 
thrones. 

It  is  possible  for  a  man  to  drift  along  with  life's 
great  army  of  martyrs,  reformers,  philanthropists, 
and  victors,  and  yet  develop  none  of  their  soldierly 
spirit.  One  may  go  through  life  and  win  no  vic- 
tories, compromise  with  every  foe,  overcome  noth- 
ing, achieve  nothing;  but  it  is  not  for  such  that 
heaven  waits. 

Not  to  the  vanquished, 
Heaven  opens  its  portals. 

Rest  is  the  glory  given 
To  crowned  immortals, 

Where  never  foes  surprise, 

Where  never  storms  arise, 

Past  all  uncertainties, 

His  rest  shall  be  glorious. 

[267]       W.  F.  BARTHOLOMEW. 


September 


The  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge.  —  Ephcsians 
3=  19- 

IF  ever  human  love  was  tender,  and  self-sacri- 
ficing, and  devoted  ;  if  ever  it  could  bear  and 
forbear  ;  if  ever  it  could  suffer  gladly  for  its  loved 
ones  ;  if  ever  it  was  willing  to  lavish  itself  for  the 
comfort  or  pleasure  of  its  objects  ;  then  infinitely 
more  is  Divine  love  tender,  and  self-sacrificing,  and 
devoted,  and  glad  to  bear  and  forbear,  and  to 
suffer,  and  to  lavish  its  best  blessings,  upon  the 
objects  of  its  love.  Put  together  all  the  tenderest 
love  you  know  of,  the  deepest  you  have  ever  felt, 
and  the  strongest  that  has  ever  been  poured  out 
upon  you,  and  heap  upon  it  all  the  love  of  all  the 
loving  hearts  in  the  world,  and  then  multiply  it  by 
infinity,  and  you  will  begin,  perhaps,  to  have  some 
faint  glimpse  of  what  the  love  of  God  is.  H.  w.  s. 

//  passeth  Knowledge. 

It  passeth  knowledge  ;  that  dear  love  of  Thine  ! 
My  Jesus  !     Saviour  !     Yet  this  soul  of  mine 
Would  of  that  love,  in  all  its  depth  and  length, 
Its  height,  and  breadth,  and  everlasting  strength, 
Know  more  and  more. 

But  ah  !     I  cannot  tell,  or  sing,  or  know, 
The  fulness  of  that  love,  whilst  here  below  : 
Yet  my  poor  vessel  I  may  freely  bring,  — 
O  Thou  who  art  of  love  the  living  spring, 

My  vessel  fill.          MARY  SHEKLETON. 
[268] 


September 


The  Lord  is  very  pitiful  and  of  tender  mercy.  —  S.  James  5  :  2. 

WE  never  have  more  than  we  can  bear.  The 
present  hour  we  are  always  able  to  endure. 
As  our  day  so  is  our  strength.  If  the  trials  of 
many  years  were  gathered  into  one  day  they  would 
overwhelm  us  ;  therefore  in  pity  to  our  little 
strength,  He  sends  first  one,  then  another,  then 
removes  both,  and  lays  on  a  third,  heavier,  perhaps, 
than  either  ;  but  all  so  •  wisely  measured  to  our 
strength  that  the  bruised  reed  is  never  broken. 
We  do  not  enough  look  at  our  trials  in  this  con- 
tinuous and  successive  view.  Each  one  is  sent 
to  teach  us  something,  and  altogether  they  have 
a  lesson  which  is  beyond  the  power  of  any  to 
teach  a  line.  H.  E.  MANNING. 

Be  still  and  trust, 

For  His  strokes  are  strokes  of  love, 
Thou  must  for  thy  profit  bear  ; 
He  thy  filial  fear  would  move, 
Trust  thy  Father's  loving  care, 
Be  still  and  trust. 

Know  God  is  near 
Though  thou  think  Him  far  away, 
Though  His  mercy  long  hath  slept, 
He  will  come  and  not  delay 
When  His  child  enough  hath  wept, 
For  God  is  near. 

ANTON   ULRICH   (1667). 
[269] 


{£toenti>?0i]ttl) 

/  would  not  live  always.  —  Job  7:16. 

OH,  the  woods  and  the  hill-sides,  the  meadows 
and  the  gardens,  the  valley  with  the  river  in 
it,  summer  morning  with  its  long  shadows  in  the 
moist  grass,  and  the  summer  evening  going  away 
in  the  west,  calm  and  sublime,  like  the  last  words 
of  a  blessing  !  —  Oh,  in  all  these  things,  the  beauty 
there  has  been,  —  what  has  it  been,  and  what  is 
it  now  ?  It  is  God  ;  and  so  it  is  what  my  soul  will 
be  living  in  forever.  .  .  .  Oh,  how  my  soul  used  to 
yearn  after  Him  !  Strange  feeling  it  was  !  Sorrow, 
joy,  love,  worship, —  it  was  all  these,  —  and  an  in- 
finite longing.  It  was  what  would  have  felt  wealth 
like  poverty,  and  what  no  sceptre  would  have 
pleased, —  an  infinite  longing,  to  which  the  whole 
world  felt  little  and  nothing.  MOUNTFORD. 

Wings  !     Wings  ! 

To  touch  the  hem  of  the  veil  that  swings, 
As  moved  by  the  breath  of  God  between 
The  world  of  sense  and  the  world  unseen ; 
To  swoon  where  the  mystic  folds  divide 
And  wake,  a  child,  on  the  other  side  ! 
To  wake  and  wonder  if  it  be  so, 
And  weep  for  joy  at  the  loss  of  woe  ; 
To  know  the  seeker  is  sought  and  found ; 
To  find  Love's  being,  but  not  his  bound ; 
Oh  !  for  the  living  that  dying  brings  ! 

Wings  !  Wings  !        MARY  A.  LATHBURY. 
[270] 


soap 

In  quietness  and  confidence  shall  be  your  strength.  —  Isaiah 
30:  15. 

THE  blessing  of  her  quiet  life 
Fell  on  us  like  the  dew  ; 

And  good  thoughts,  where  her  footsteps  pressed, 
Like  fairy  blossoms  grew.  WHITTIER. 

It  is  the  lives,  like  the  stars,  which  simply  pour 
down  on  us  the  calm  light  of  their  bright  and 
faithful  being,  to  which  we  look  and  out  of  which 
we  gather  the  deepest  calm  and  courage.  No  man 
or  woman  can  really  be  strong,  gentle,  pure,  and 
good,  without  the  world  being  better  for  it,  without 
somebody  being  helped  and  comforted  by  the  very 
existence  of  that  goodness.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

The  deliverance  of  the  soul  from  all  useless  and 
selfish  and  unquiet  cares,  brings  to  it  an  unspeak- 
able peace  and  freedom  ;  this  is  true  simplicity. 
And  the  effect  of  this  simplicity  is  felt,  not  in  one's 
life  alone,  but  it  shines  into  other  lives  with  a  clear 
serene  light  like  that  of  moonlight  or  star-shine. 
This  is  the  strength  of  the  quiet  soul :  other  souls 
will  come  to  it  for  rest  and  quieting;  other  lives 
will  grow  peaceful  by  viewing  its  peace.  Small 
anxieties  and  frets  will  vanish  in  its  presence,  and 
earthly  shadows  will  be  pierced  and  interfused  with 
its  heavenly  light. 


[27!] 


Who  redeemeth  thy  life  from  destruction.  —  Psalm  103  :  4. 

^  I  ^HE  ideal  embodied  in  a  redeemed  life  is  high. 
J_  It  means  not  alone  your  own  salvation,  but 
that  you  are  called  to  the  work  of  saving  the  world. 
William  Scott,  the  Vermont  boy  whose  life  Lincoln 
saved,  after  he  had  been  condemned  to  be  shot, 
is  an  example  of  how  a  redeemed  life  spent  itself 
in  sacred  service.  Scott,  in  telling  of  his  interview, 
said  that  Mr.  Lincoln  came  to  him  and  said  :  — 

"My  boy,  you  are  not  going  to  be  shot  to- 
morrow. I  am  going  to  trust  you  and  send  you 
back  to  your  regiment.  I  have  come  to  Washing- 
ton when  it  was  hard  to  come,  and  now,  how  will 
you  pay  my  bill?"  Scott  said  :  "There  was  a  big 
lump  in  my  throat  ;  I  could  scarcely  speak,  but  I 
managed  to  say,  '  I  will  pay  you  some  way.'  "  "  But 
it  is  a  great  deal,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln  ;  and  then  he 
put  his  hands  on  my  shoulders,  and  said  :  "  My 
bill  is  a  very  large  one,  my  boy.  There  is  only 
one  man  in  the  world  who  can  pay  it,  and  his  name 
is  William  Scott.  If  from  this  day  he  does  his 
duty  so  that  at  life's  close  he  can  say,  '  I  have  kept 
my  promise  and  have  done  my  duty  as  a  soldier, 
then  my  debt  will  be  paid.  Will  you  make  that 
promise,  and  try  to  keep  it?'  ' 

The  record  says  that  Scott  became  one  of  the 
truest,  best  soldiers  ever  known,  and  that  he  died 
risking  his  life  in  the  rescue  of  wounded  men. 


[272] 


Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love.  —  I  Peter  1 :  8. 

IN  reflecting  the  character  of  Christ,  it  is  no  real 
obstacle  that  we  may  never  have  been  in  visible 
contact  with  Himself. 

There  lived  once  a  young  girl  whose  perfect 
grace  of  character  was  the  wonder  of  those  who 
knew  her.  She  wore  on  her  neck  a  gold  locket 
which  no  one  was  ever  allowed  to  open.  One  day, 
in  a  moment  of  unusual  confidence,  one  of  her 
companions  was  allowed  to  touch  its  secret  spring 
and  learn  its  secret.  She  saw  written  these  words 
—  "  Whom  having  not  seen,  I  love"  That  was  the 
secret  of  her  beautiful  life.  She  had  been  changed 
into  the  Same  Image.  DRUMMOND. 

Whom  Having  Not  Seen,  Ye  Love. 

"  Not  seen  !  "     The  veil  of  flesh 
Doth  dim  our  spirit's  eyes, 

Nor  shall  we  see,  until 
We  mount  the  vaulted  skies. 

But  we  will  love  Thee  still,  our  Lord  ! 

Believing  all  Thy  gracious  word. 

"  Not  seen  !  "  but  dearer  far 
Than  aught  that  greets  the  sight ; 

We  seek  Thee  through  the  day, 
And  trust  Thee  through  the  night. 

In  busy  toil  or  silent  sleep, 

Thy  loving  watch  around  us  keep. 

[273] 


That  Rock  was  Christ,  —  I  Corinthians  10 :  4. 

The  Wondrous  Rock  of  Ages. 

O  WONDROUS  Rock  of  Ages, 
»What  power  and  might  are  Thine, 
What  memories  'round  Thee  cluster 

As  pilgrims  'round  a  shrine  ! 
Rock,  ever  firm  and  steadfast, 

Confessed  in  prayer  and  song, 
In  whom  our  fathers  trusted,  — 
What  hopes  around  Thee  throng  ! 

The  storms  of  life  may  gather, 

The  winds  beat  to  and  fro, 
But  always  there  is  refuge, 

Where  we  may  freely  go  ; 
No  dark  or  dread  disaster 

Can  e'er  oppress  the  day, 
For  'neath  Thy  sacred  shelter 

All  griefs  are  swept  away. 

O  precious  Rock  of  Ages  ! 

Since  Thou  wert  cleft  for  me, 
I'm  sheltered  from  all  danger 

If  I  but  hide  in  Thee  ; 
Securely  there  abiding 

On  Thee  I  calmly  rest, 
Whatever  be  my  portion 

I  count  it  good  and  blest. 

MARTHA    ( -API'S    dl.IVKK. 
[274] 


a 

od 

5bie!d 
l-o  l-hy 


October 
9 


Wherefore  seeing  -we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so 
great  a  clottd  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us.  —  Hebrews  12:  I. 

are  encompassed  about  by  a  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses,  whose  hearts  throb  in  sympathy  with 
every  effort  and  struggle,  and  who  thrill  with 
joy  at  every  success.  How  should  this  thought 
check  and  rebuke  every  feeling  that  is  worldly  and 
every  unworthy  purpose,  and  enshrine  us,  in  the 
midst  of  a  forgetful  and  unspiritual  world,  with  an 
atmosphere  of  heavenly  peace  !  They  have  over- 
come —  have  risen  —  are  crowned,  glorified;  but 
still  they  remain  to  us,  our  assistants,  our  com- 
forters, and  in  every  hour  of  darkness  their  voice 
speaks  to  us  :  "So  we  grieved,  so  we  struggled,  so 
we  fainted,  so  we  doubted  ;  but  we  have  overcome, 
we  have  obtained,  we  have  seen,  we  have  found,  — 
and  in  our  victory  behold  the  certainty  of  thy  own." 

HARRIET   BEECHER  STOWE. 

Not  a  vain  and  cold  ideal, 

Not  a  poet's  dream  alone, 

But  a  presence  warm  and  real, 

Seen  and  felt  and  known. 

WHITTIER. 
[275] 


Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  me  .  .  .  and  ye  shall 
find  rest.  —  S.  Matthew  1 1 :  20. 

/'""CHRIST  never  said  much  in  mere  words  about 
V_x  the  Christian  graces.  He  lived  them,  He 
was  them.  Yet  we  do  not  merely  copy  Him.  We 
learn  His  art  by  living  with  Him,  like  the  old 
apprentices  with  their  masters.  He  says  "  Follow 
me  .  .  .  and  you  will  find  rest."  Perhaps  if  we 
knew  how  much  was  involved  in  the  simple  "  learn" 
of  Christ,  we  would  not  enter  His  school  with  so" 
irresponsible  a  heart.  For  there  is  not  only  much 
to  learn,  but  much  to  unlearn.  Many  persons 
never  go  to  this  school  at  all  until  character  has 
almost  taken  on  its  fatal  set.  But  it  can  be  done 
—  and  there  is  Rest  in  the  school  although  there  is 
also  much  Work.  HENRY  DRUMMOND. 

The  heart  bereft  of  all  its  brood  of  singing  hopes, 

and  left 

'Mid  leafless  boughs,  a  cold,  forsaken  nest, 
With  snowflakes  in  it :  folded  in  Thy  breast 
Doth  lose  its  deadly  chill ;  and  grief  that  creeps 
Unto  Thy  side  for  shelter,  finding  there 
The  wound's  deep  cleft,  forgets  its  moan  and  weeps 
Calm,  quiet  tears ;  .  .  .  pain  on  Thee  doth  press 
Its  quivering  cheek,  and  all  the  weariness, 
The  want  that  keep  their  silence,  till  from  Thee 
They  hear  the  gracious  summons  ;  none  beside 
Hath  spoken  to  the  world-worn,  "  Come  to  me  !  " 

[276] 


October 


If  a  man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault,  ye  -which  are  spiritual 
restore  such  an  one  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  ;  considering  thy- 
self, lest  thou  also  be  tempted.  —  Galatians  6  :  i. 
What  doest  thou  here,  Elijah  ?  —  I  Kings  9:13. 

GOD  well  knew  where  Elijah  was  when  He 
asked,  "What  doest  thou  here?"  But  He 
would  know  from  Elijah  himself,  that,  being  called 
upon  to  account  for  his  conduct,  he  might  be  con- 
vinced of  his  folly.  God  has  a  right  to  know  where 
we  are,  and  what  we  are  doing  ;  He  is  interested  in 
observing  our  conduct  ;  interested  as  a  judge  who 
is  to  pass  sentence  upon  our  actions  ;  as  a  friend, 
who  would  check  us  when  we  go  astray.  Elijah's 
reproof  was  a  reproof  given  to  a  good  man.  But 
while  God  does  not  cast  him  off,  He  reprehends  - 
him.  It  is  thus  His  gentleness  makes  us  great 
If  a  brother  be  overtaken  in  a  fault,  let  us  not 
employ  the  earthquake,  the  wind,  and  the  fire,  but 
the  small  still  voice.  Let  us  take  him  aside,  and 
tell  him  his  fault  between  him  and  us  alone. 

Jesus,  let  Thy  pitying  eye 

Call  back  a  wandering  sheep  ; 
False  to  Thee,  like  Peter,  I 

Would  fain  like  Peter  weep  ; 
Let  me  be  by  grace  restored, 

On  me  be  all  long-suffering  shown, 
Turn  and  look  upon  me,  Lord, 

And  break  this  heart  of  stone. 

c.  WESLEY. 
t2??] 


SDctobcr 

jfourtlj 


In  our  low  estate.  —  Psalm  1  36  :  23. 

NOT  a  few  in  their  last  hours  find  themselves 
tried  because  the  future  is  so  uncertain,  be- 
cause their  life  has  been  so  imperfect.  .  .  .  When 
they  think  what  God  is  in  His  purity  and  majesty, 
they  tremble,  and  dare  not  die.  Why,  then,  do  they 
not  think  what  God  is  in  His  mercy  !  He  stands  in 
the  plenitude  of  all-comforting  grace  —  grace  not 
to  be  given  to  those  that  have,  but  grace  to  be 
given  as  raiment  is  given  to  those  that  are  naked, 
as  medicine  is  given  to  those  that  are  sick,  as  food 
is  given  to  those  that  are  hungry,  as  charity  is 
bestowed  on  those  that  are  needy.  God  supplies, 
not  the  supplied,  but  the  unsupplied  ;  He  strengthens, 
not  the  strong,  but  the  weak  ;  He  comforts,  not  the 
rejoicing,  but  the  sorrowing.  BEECHER. 

Leave  all  to  God, 
Forsaken  one,  and  stay  thy  tears  ; 
For  the  Highest  knows  thy  pain, 
Sees  thy  suffering,  and  thy  fears  ; 
Thou  shall  not  wait  His  help  in  vain. 
Leave  all  to  God. 

If  thou  love  Him, 
Walking  truly  in  His  ways, 
Then  no  trouble,  cross,  or  death, 
E'er  shall  silence  faith  and  praise  ! 
All  things  serve  thee  here  beneath 
If  thou  love  God.  ANTON  ULRICH. 

[278] 


All  things  to  all  men.  —  I  Corinthians  9 :  22. 

VERY  largely  we  ourselves  become  what  others 
are  to  us.  ...  Love  truly,  and  then  other 
men's  souls  will  be  sources  of  your  soul's  growth. 
Sympathize  with  the  good  in  their  endeavors,  and 
you  yourself  will  be  morally  stronger.  Revere  the 
wise,  and  yours  will  be  the  state  of  mind  into  which 
wisdom  comes  most  freely.  Love  little  children, 
and  something  of  their  innocence  will  come  over 
your  mind,  and  whiten  its  darker  spots.  Love  them 
that  are  old,  and  your  soul  will  be  as  though  the 
longer  experienced  in  life.  This  life  that  we  are 
living  in  is  not  empty  of  power,  but  full  of  it, — 
power  that  is  on  us  and  about  us  always,  and  into 
the  nature  of  which  we  have  vision  given  us,  that 
we  should  not  perish. 

Wish  to  be  a  child  of  God ;  and  then  sunshine 
and  frost,  and  friends  and  enemies,  and  youth  and 
age,  and  business  and  pleasure,  and  all  things  will 
help  to  make  you  one.  MOUNTFORD. 

Attainment. 

The  soul  that  longs  for  higher  things  unknown, 
Shall  not  forever  long  unsatisfied ; 

The  heart's  desire  shall  of  itself  alone 
Lift  up  the  soul  to  that  for  which  it  cried. 

MARY   A.    LEWIS. 

[279] 


October 


Thy  law  is  within  my  heart.  —  Psalm  40  :  8. 

Within. 

WITHIN  the  circling  storm  there  is  a  centre 
Of  perfect  rest  ; 
Within  the  cloud  we  so  much  fear  to  enter 

Are  visions  blest. 
Within  the  husk  the  harvest  lies  enfolded  ; 

The  chaff  falls  dead, 
But  the  sweet  life  the  summer  months  have  moulded 

Becomes  our  bread. 
Within  the  bark,  all  rough  and  deeply  wrinkled, 

Flow  hidden  streams, 
Bearing  a  thousand  flowers  with  perfume  sprinkled  — 

The  sun's  bright  beams. 
Within  the  shell  are  wings,  and  songs  unspoken, 

A  perfect  bird  ; 
All  useless  wings,  until  the  shell  be  broken, 

And  songs  unheard  ! 
Within,  the  spirit  dwells  ;  the  outer  letter 

Is  not  the  whole  ; 
Tis  but  the  body,  or  at  times  a  fetter 

Binding  the  soul. 
Within  the  veil,  beyond  the  world's  pollution, 

Are  seas  of  light, 
Giving  to  each  enigma  its  solution  — 

The  perfect  sight  ! 

HENRY    BURTON. 
[280] 


October 

soap 

For  the  very  works'  sake.  —  S.  John  14  :  1 1. 

OTH  KRS  shall  sing  the  song, 
Others  shall  right  the  wrong, 
Finish  what  I  begin, 
And  all  I  fail  of,  win. 

What  matter,  I  or  they? 
Mine  or  another's  day, 

So  the  right  word  be  said 

And  life  the  sweeter  made? 

WHITHER. 

I  will  not  say  that  humility  is  the  only  way  to 
excellence,  but  I  am  sure  that  it  is  one  road.  • 

LONGFELLOW. 

Labour  as  if  the  success  of  this  life  and  the  life 
eternal  rested  upon  you  alone.  And  yet  keep  to 
that  sweet  humility  which  allows  others  to  build 
upon  the  low  foundation  of  that  which  you  have 
begun  but  could  not  finish. 

Keep  in  mind  the  idea  that  it  is  the  work  itself 
that  is  of  consequence  to  the  world,  and  not  the 
worker. 

No  matter  whether  He  calls  us  into  ways  of 
honour  or  of  scorn,  it  is  all  one  if  His  work  is 
thereby  done.  The  consecrated  soul  will  merge 
all  thoughts  of  self  in  the  one  thought  of  helping 
on  the  kingdom  of  God. 

[281] 


October 

dBtgljtl)  Dap 

As  for  man,  his  days  are  a$  grass :  as  a  flower  of  the  field,  so 
he  flour  isheth.  —  Psalm  103:  15. 

'  I  ^HERE  is  a  past  which  is  gone  forever,  but 
A     there  is  a  future  which  is  still  our  own. 

F.  W.  ROBERTSON. 

Looking  calmly  yet  humbly  for  the  close  of  my 
mortal  career,  which  cannot  be  far  distant,  I  rever- 
ently thank  God  for  the  blessings  vouchsafed  me  in 
the  past,  and  with  an  awe  that  is  not  fear,  and  a 
consciousness  of  demerit  that  does  not  exclude 
hope,  await  the  opening  before  my  steps  of  the 
gates,  of  the  eternal  world.  HORACE  GREELEY. 

The  places  that  know  you  will  soon  know  you  no 
more  forever.  The  cares  that  made  you  fret  yester- 
day are  already  below  the  horizon.  Your  friends 
have  gone  on  before  ;  but  what  of  that  ?  You  will 
soon  be  with  them.  Your  life  is  full  of  troubles 
and  mischiefs  ;  but  what  of  that  ?  Your  mischiefs 
and  troubles  are  nearly  over  —  nearer  than  you 
think.  The  glorious  future  is  almost  yours. 

It  is  not  death  to  close 

The  eye  long  dimmed  with  tears, 

And  wake,  in  glorioys  repose, 
In  God's  Eternal  Years. 

ABRAHAM    H.  C.  MOLAN. 


[282] 


October 


When  I  fail  I  shall  arise.  —  Micah  7  :  8. 

/  will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father.  —  S.  Luke  15  :  18. 

BE  patient  with  every  one,  but  above  all  with 
yourself.  I  mean,  do  not  be  disturbed  because 
of  your  imperfections,  and  always  rise  up  bravely 
from  a  fall.  I  am  glad  that  you  make  a  daily  new 
beginning  ;  there  is  no  better  means  of  progress  in 
the  spiritual  life  than  to  be  continually  beginning 
afresh.  s.  FRANCIS  DE  SALES. 

It  is  not  that  I  feel  less  weak,  but  Thou 
Wilt  be  my  strength  ;  it  is  not  that  I  see 
Less  sin  ;  but  more  of  pardoning  love  with  Thee, 
And  all-sufficient  grace. 

F.  W.  HAVERGAL. 
I 

O  child,  hast  thou  fallen  ?  arise,  and  go,  with 
child-like  trust,  to  thy  Father,  like  the  prodigal  son, 
and  humbly  say,  with  heart  and  mouth,  "  Father,  I 
have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  Thee,  and 
am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  Thy  son  ;  make 
me  as  one  of  Thy  hired  servants."  And  what  will 
thy  heavenly  Father  do  but  what  that  father  did  in 
the  parable.  Assuredly  He  will  not  change  His 
essence,  which  is  love,  for  the  sake  of  thy  mis- 
doings. Is  it  not  His  own  precious  pleasure,  and  a 
small  thing  for  Him  to  forgive  thy  trespasses,  if 
thou  believe  in  Him  ?  for  His  hand  is  not  shortened 
that  it  cannot  make  thee  fit  to  be  saved. 

JOHN  TAULER. 

[283] 


The  Lord  is  my  helper.  —  Hebrews  13:6. 

DO  not  be  discouraged  at  your  faults ;  bear 
with  yourself  in  correcting  them,  as  you 
would  with  your  neighbor.  Lay  aside  this  ardor 
of  mind,  which  exhausts  your  body,  and  leads  you 
to  commit  errors.  Accustom  yourself  gradually  to 
carry  prayer  into  all  your  daily  occupations.  Speak, 
move,  work,  in  peace,  as  if  you  were  in  prayer,  as 
indeed  you  ought  to  be.  Do  everything  without 
excitement,  by  the  spirit  of  grace.  As  soon  as  you 
perceive  your  natural  impetuosity  gliding  in,  retire 
quietly  within,  where  is  the  kingdom  of  God.  Listen 
to  the  leadings  of  grace,  then  say  and  do  nothing  but 
what  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  put  in  your  heart.  You 
will  find  that  you  will  become  more  tranquil,  .  .  . 
and  that  you  will  accomplish  more  good. 

FENELON. 

Just  to  trust  and  yet  to  ask 

Guidance  still ; 
Take  the  training  or  the  task 

As  He  will. 
Just  to  follow,  hour  by  hour, 

As  He  leadeth, 
Just  to  draw  the  moment's  power 

As  it  needeth ; 

Just  to  trust  Him  —  that  is  all, 
Then  the  day  will  surely  be 
Peaceful,  whatsoe'er  befall, 

Bright  and  blessed,  safe  and  free. 
[284] 


October 


Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him 
while  he  is  near.  —  Isaiah  55  :  6. 

NEARER  to  Thee,  O  my  Father,  still  nearer, 
This  is  my  song  and  my  reverent  plea, 
This  is  the  theme  of  my  fervent  petition, 

Nearer  to  Thee,  Saviour,  nearer  to  Thee  ! 
When  I  am  heedless  Thy  hand  will  restrain  me, 

Gently  my  feet  all  the  way  will  be  led, 
When  I  am  weary  Thy  love  will  sustain  me, 
Sweetly  thy  dews  will  descend  on  my  head. 

Waking  or  sleeping,  smiling  or  weeping, 

What  recks  it  how  my  days  be  — 
If  they  but  lead  me,  if  they  but  speed  me 
Nearer  and  nearer  to  Thee  ? 

Or,  if  in  darkness  my  path  must  be  followed, 

Speak  through  the  silence,  my  spirit  constrain, 
Show  me  what  providence,  sacred  and  hallowed, 

Urges  my  steps  through  the  valley  of  pain  ! 
Show  me  how  service  or  sacrifice  lowly 

Leads  to  the  heights  and  to  visions  divine, 
Whisper  a  message  all  tender  and  holy,  — 

Thus  through  the  gloom  will  Thy  voice  answer 

mine. 
Trusting  or  fearing,  listening  or  hearing, 

All  my  days  let  them  be 
Envoys  to  lead  me,  heralds  to  speed  me 
Nearer  and  nearer  to  Thee  ! 

MARTHA    CAPPS    OLIVER. 

[285] 


October 


By  grace  ye  are  saved.  —  Ephesians  11:5. 

IT  is  not  strength  of  intellect  that  saves  a  man, 
or  the  most  respectable  surroundings,  or  ortho- 
doxy of  creed.  All  these  under  pressure  have 
proved  to  be  but  ropes  of  sand  attached  to  anchors 
of  straw  ;  they  never  hold  a  man  against  the  tides 
of  strong  temptation.  He  must  have  Christian 
principle,  or  he  is  lost.  No  man  is  safe  in  business 
or  safe  in  politics  or  safe  in  personal  character, 
when  conscience  cuts  loose  from  God.  He  may 
float  for  a  while,  but  it  is  a  question  of  time  how 
soon  he  shall  strike  and  go  to  the  bottom.  God 
never  insures  any  one,  not  even  in  the  church,  who 
has  refused  to  guide  his  course  by  the  Bible  com- 
pass, and  to  fasten  his  soul  to  Jesus  Christ.  But 
the  cable  of  Christ's  love  will  not  only  keep  you 
steadfast  through  life's  storms  and  through  its 
treacherous  under-currents,  but  will  advance  you 
heavenward.  The  refusal  of  Jesus  Christ  means 
the  shipwreck  of  your  immortal  soul.  Fasten  in 
faith  your  weakness  to  His  strength,  your  sinful 
heart  to  His  cleansing  grace,  and  you  are  saved. 
If  you  reach  heaven,  my  friend,  you  will  come  in, 
like  that  returning  ship  from  its  long  voyage,  with 
your  anchor  at  the  prow.  You  will  give  all  the 
glory  not  to  your  own  skill  or  your  own  seamanship, 
but  to  Him  whose  atoning  blood  purchased  your 
redemption,  and  whose  mighty  arm  of  love  brought 
you  into  the  heavenly  port.  THEODORE  L.  CUYLER. 
[286] 


October 


In   him   we   live   and  move   and  have   our   being.  —  Acts 
17:28. 

ABIDE  in  me  :  o'ershadow  by  thy  love 
Each  half-formed  purpose  and  dark  thought 

of  sin  ; 

Quench  ere  it  rise,  each  selfish,  low  desire 
And  keep  my  soul  as  Thine,  calm  and  divine. 

HARRIET    BEECHER   STOWE. 

Yea  !     In  Thy  life  our  little  lives  are  ended, 
Into  Thy  depths  our  trembling  spirits  fall  ; 

In  Thee  enfolded,  gathered,  comprehended, 

As  holds  the  sea  her  waves  —  Thou  hold'st  us  all. 

SCUDDER. 

To  whatever  worlds  He  carries  our  souls  when 
they  shall  pass  out  of  these  imprisoning  bodies,  in 
those  worlds  these  souls  of  ours  shall  find  them- 
selves part  of  the  same  great  Temple  :  for  it 
belongs  not  to  this  world  alone.  There  can  be 
no  end  of  the  universe  where  God  is,  to  which 
that  growing  temple  does  not  reach  —  the  temple 
of  a  creation  to  be  wrought  at  last  into  a  perfect 
utterance  of  God  by  a  perfect  obedience  to  God. 

PHILLIPS    BROOKS. 

Nothing  of  joy  or  grief,  of  pleasure  or  pain  that 
we  experience  but  has  some  part  in  the  experience 
of  Christ.  When  we  make  prayer  the  scaling  ladder 
to  reach  Him,  we  not  only  find  Him,  but  we  may 
indeed  live  in  Him  as  He  in  us. 
[287] 


SDctobet; 

jfourteentl)  SDap 

We  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  —  2  Corinthians  5  :  7. 


day,"  we  say,  and  turn  our  eyes 
Toward  the  fair  hills  of  Paradise. 
Some  day,  some  time,  a  sweet,  new  rest 
Shall  blossom,  flower-like,  in  each  breast, 
Some  time,  some  day,  our  eyes  shall  see 
The  faces  kept  in  memory, 
Some  day  their  hands  shall  clasp  our  hands 
Just  over  in  the  morning  lands. 
Some  day  our  ears  shall  hear  the  song 
Of  triumph  over  sin  and  wrong. 
Some  day,  some  time  ;  but  oh  \  not  yet  ; 
But  we  will  wait,  and  not  forget 
That  some  time  all  these  things  shall  be, 
And  rest  be  given  you  and  me. 
So  wait,  my  friend,  though  years  move  slow, 
The  happy  time  will  come,  we  know. 

NEW   ORLEANS  ITEM. 

This  is  what  it  is  to  walk  by  faith  —  to  feel  that 
we  are  ever  drawing  nearer  to  our  home.  You 
that  are  called  of  God,  you  that  have  a  hope  in 
Jesus  Christ,  have  not  only  a  duty,  but  a  right  of 
joy.  It  is  a  part  of  that  treasure  which  God  has 
given  you,  and  you  have  a  right  to  be  increasingly 
joyful.  The  nearer  you  come  to  the  end  of  life 
and  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  more  your 
heart  should  shine  and  your  tongue  rejoice. 


[288] 


October 

:f  tfteemi) 


Be  ye  kind  to  one  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving  one 
another,  even  as  Cod,  for  Christ's  sake,  has  forgiven  you.  — 
Ephesians  4  :  32. 


does  not  demand  of  us  that  we 
should  not  see  the  faults  of  others  ;  we  must 
in  that  case  shut  our  eyes.  But  it  commands  us  to 
avoid  attending  to  them  unnecessarily,  and  that 
we  be  not  blind  to  the  good,  while  we  are  so  clear- 
sighted to  the  evil  that  exists. 

No  man  is  obliged  to  live  so  free  from  passion 
as  not  to  show  some  resentment  ;  and  it  is  rather 
stoical  stupidity  than  virtue,  to  do  otherwise. 
Anger  may  glance  into  the  breast  of  a  wise  man, 
but  rest  only  in  the  bosom  of  fools.  Fight  hard 
against  resentment.  Anger  will  come,  but  resist  it 
strongly.  A  spark  may  set  a  house  on  fire.  A  fit 
of  passion  may  give  you  cause  to  mourn  all  the 
days  of  your  life.  Never  revenge  an  injury. 

I  bow  before  the  noble  mind 

That  freely  some  great  wrong  forgives  ; 

Yet  noble  is  the  one  forgiven 

Who  baars  that  burden  well,  and  lives. 

ADELAIDE    PROCTER. 

The  soul  which  sin  has  overtaken  is  like  a  bruised 
reed.  It  must  be  raised  up  gently,  that  it  may  once 
more  aspire  heavenwards.  E.  BERSIER. 

Reproof  is  not  an  act  of  butchery,  but  of  surgery. 

ARCHBISHOP   SECKER. 
[289] 


With  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation. — 
Isaiah  12:3. 

A  FOUNTAIN,  or  a  well,  in  the  sacred  writings, 
/~\  is  an  emblem  of  that  which  produces  joy 
and  refreshment ;  which  sustains  and  cheers.  The 
figure  is  often  employed  to  denote  that  which 
supports  and  refreshes  the  soul;  which  sustains 
man  when  sinking  from  exhaustion  —  as  the  bub- 
bling fountain  or  well  refreshes  the  weary  and  faint- 
ing pilgrim.  It  is  thus  applied  to  God  as  an  over- 
flowing fountain,  fitted  to  supply  the  wants  of  all. 
The  water  of  life  is  sweet  and  refreshing,  the 
wells  of  salvation  are  deep  and  inexhaustible ;  but 
none  can  drink  save  those  who  draw.  "  With  joy 
we  are  to  draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation. 
Faith  is  the  bucket,  but  joy  and  love  are  the  hands 
that  move  it. 

O  Christ,  we  come  to  draw, 

For  we  are  thirsty,  faint,  and  worn, 
Thine  are  the  living  wells 

Whence  cooling  waters  flow, 
And  healing  for  our  wounds  : 
O  give  us  strength  to  draw. 
But  help  us,  Lord,  we  pray, 
Our  vessels  are  so  small, 
That  we  must  dip  and  dip  again 
Before  our  thirst  is  quenched 
Or  hearts  made  whole  again  ; 
O  give  us  strength  to  draw  ! 
[290] 


October 


Lord,  thou  hast  heard  the  desire  of  the  humble:  thou  ivilt 
cause  thine  ear  to  hear.  —  Psalm  IO  :  17. 

LEARN  to  entwine  with  prayers  the  small 
cares,  the  trifling  sorrows,  the  little  wants  of 
daily  life.  Whatever  affects  you  —  be  it  a  changed 
look,  an  altered  tone,  an  unkind  word,  a  wound, 
a  demand  you  cannot  meet,  a  sorrow  you  cannot 
disclose  —  turn  it  into  prayer,  and  send  it  up  to 
God.  Disclosures  you  may  not  make  to  man  you 
can  make  to  the  Lord.  Only  give  yourself  to 
prayer,  whatever  be  the  occasion  that  calls  for  it. 


From  this  sinful  heart  of  mine. 

To  Thy  bosom  I  would  flee ; 
I  am  not  my  own,  but  Thine, 

"  God  be  merciful  to  me  !  " 

There  is  one  beside  Thy  throne, 
And  my  only  hope  and  plea 

Are  in  Him,  and  Him  alone, 
"  God  be  merciful  to  me  !  " 

He  my  cause  will  undertake, 

My  interpreter  will  be  ; 
He's  my  all  —  and  for  His  sake, 

"  God  be  merciful  to  me  !  " 

J.  S.  B.  MONSELL. 

[291] 


October 

(Eigljteentl) 


With  lovingkindness.  —  Jeremiah  31  :  3. 

WHAT  was  the  secret  of  such  a  one's  power  ? 
What  had  she  done?  Absolutely  nothing, 
but  radiant  smiles,  beaming  good  humor,  the  tact 
of  divining  what  every  one  felt  and  every  one 
wanted,  told  that  she  had  got  out  of  self  and 
learned  to  think  of  others  ;  so  that  at  one  time  it 
showed  itself  by  sweet  words  ;  at  another,  by 
smoothing  an  invalid's  pillow  ;  at  another,  by  sooth- 
ing a  sobbing  child.  None  but  she  saw  those 
things.  None  but  a  loving  heart  could  see  them. 
That  was  the  secret  of  her  heavenly  power.  The 
one  who  will  be  found  in  trial  capable  of  great  acts 
of  love,  is  ever  the  one  who  is  always  doing  con- 
siderate small  ones.  F.  w.  ROBERTSON. 

Sow  love,  and  taste  its  fruitage  pure  ; 

Sow  peace,  and  reap  its  harvests  bright  ; 
Sow  sunbeams  on  the  rock  and  moor, 

And  find  a  harvest  home  of  light.      BONAR. 

May  I  reach 

That  purest  heaven,  be  to  other  souls 
The  cup  of  strength  in  some  great  agony, 
Enkindle  generous  ardor,  feed  pure  love, 
Be  the  sweet  presence  of  a  good  diffused, 
And  in  diffusion  ever  more  intense  ! 
So  shall  I  join  the  choir  invisible 
Whose  music  is  the  gladness  of  the  world. 

GEORGE    ELIOT. 
[292] 


October 


With  patience.  —  S.  Luke  8:  15. 

GO  bend  to  God,  and  leave  to  Him 
The  mystery  of  thy  brother's  heart, 
Nor  vainly  think  his  faith  is  dim 

Because  in  thine  it  has  no  part. 
He  too  is  mortal,  and,  like  thee, 

Would  soar  to  immortality. 
There  may  be  hope  as  pure,  as  bright, 

As  ever  sought  eternity,  — 
There  may  be  light,  clear,  heavenly  light, 

Where  all  seems  cold  and  dark  to  thee. 

And  as  a  bird  each  fond  endearment  tries 
To  tempt  its  new-fledged  offspring  to  the  skies, 
He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 
Allured  to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way. 

GOLDSMITH. 

God  can  and  does  render  sinners  happy  in  spite 
of  their  sins,  for  Christ's  sake,  remitting  to  them 
its  penalty,  while  its  power  is  only  partially  broken, 
fostering  them,  and  rejoicing  over  them  until  their 
restoration  to  spiritual  health  is  complete.  Any- 
thing that  turns  the  sinner's  regard  inward  on  him- 
self as  a  ground  of  hope,  instead  of  bidding  him 
look  to  Christ,  must  plunge  him  into  despair,  and 
despair  is  the  portal  of  death.  CHARLES  HODGE. 

Be  patient  under  trials,  and  always  look  at  the 
reverse  side  for  the  mercy  that  may  be  concealed 
beneath  the  "  forming  providence." 

[293] 


October 

tEtoenttetl) 


Bringing  into   captivity  every  thought  to  the   obedience  of 
Christ.  —  I  Corinthians  IO  :  5. 


T 


HEY  are  never  alone  who  are  accompanied 
by  noble  thoughts.  SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY. 


A  broad-minded  selection  of  noble  passages, 
though  it  may  not  be  able  to  do  all  we  could 
wish  in  a  moral  way,  can  certainly  do  much  to 
raise  men  to  a  high  moral,  political,  and  social 
plane.  I  believe  that  gems  of  literature  introduced 
into  our  schools,  if  properly  taught,  will  be  able 
to  do  this,  partly  by  their  own  directive  influence, 
on  the  young  mind,  but  particularly  and  partly  as 
it  shall  result  in  an  abiding  thirst  for  noble  reading. 

JOHN    B.  PEASLEE. 

Certain  thoughts  are  prayers.  There  are  mo- 
ments when,  whatever  be  the  attitude  of  the  body, 
the  soul  is  on  its  knees.  VICTOR  HUGO. 

For  your  own  sakes,  brethren,  for  God's  sake, 
let  your  thought  rise.  Bid  it,  force  it  to  rise. 
Think  of  the  face  of  Jesus,  of  your  future  home 
in  heaven,  of  the  loved  ones  who  have  gone  before 
you.  Think  of  all  that  has  ever  cheered,  quick- 
ened, braced  you.  In  such  thoughts,  to  such 
thoughts,  Jesus  will  assuredly  and  increasingly  re- 
veal Himself.  LIDDON. 

The  key  to  every  man  is  his  thought. 

THACKERAY. 

[294] 


October 


H 


Tke  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  —  Galatians  6  :  14. 

My  Cross. 

~E  lays  on  me  my  cross, 
It  is  my  own  ; 
I  know,  alone, 
My  suffering,  my  loss. 
He  binds  it  on  my  heart  ; 

Its  fibres  press 

With  sore  distress, 
From  it  I  never  part. 
My  cross  is  meted  me  : 

Its  breadth  and  length 

Fitted  my  strength  ; 
Though  weighted  heavily. 
No  less  than  this 

Enough  could  be 

To  chasten  me, 
Until  the  Hand  I  kiss. 

You  have  your  cross,  my  friend.  .  .  .  There  is 
pain  in  the  duty  which  you  do.  But  if  in  all  your 
pain  you  know  that  God's  love  is  becoming  a  dearer 
and  plainer  truth  to  you  ;  and  that  the  vision  of  the 
world's  redemption  is  growing  more  certain  and 
bright,  then  you  can  be  more  than  brave  ;  you  can 
triumph  in  every  task,  in  every  sacrifice.  Your 
cross  has  won  something  of  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  your  Lord's.  Rejoice  and  be  glad,  for  you  are 
crucified  with  Christ.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

[295] 


October 


Because  I  live  ye  shall  live  also.  —  S.  John  14:  19. 

GOD'S  I  am  —  if  the  soul  has  God  within  it 
it  is  His  everlastingly,  —  His  to  grow  forever. 
There  will  grow  in  it  the  whole  wisdom  in  which 
this  world  is  made. 

In  the  dark  everything  is  shut  out  from  us  but 
the  omnipotent  present,  and  so  in  darkness  the 
Godhead  wraps  us  around  like  a  felt  presence. 
A  clear  night  calms  me,  and  while  I  am  walking 
in  it,  high  truths  rise  upon  my  soul,  like  stars  above 
the  horizon.  In  nature,  one  view  calms  the  soul, 
another  purifies  it,  and  another  sublimes  it.  But 
it  is  possible,  in  the  sight  of  the  same  scene,  and 
at  the  same  time,  for  one  man  to  feel  one  way, 
and  another  another  ;  for  one  looker  to  be  solem- 
nized, and  another  to  be  made  more  hopeful.  Just 
as,  looking  on  the  blessed  face  of  Christ,  a  happy 
person  would  rejoice  more  purely,  and  a  tearful 
one  sorrow  more  holily.  So  it  is  with  nature. 
O,  out  in  the  country,  sometimes,  my  soul  feels 
wrapped,  as  though  in  the  arms  of  the  Great 
Father.  It  is  as  though  the  wind  whispered  me 
divine  messages  ;  and  it  is  as  though  divine  mean- 
ing broke  upon  me  from  out  of  the  clouds,  and  the 
hillsides,  and  from  among  the  stars.  And  I  know 
that  I  am  growing  into  the  spirit  of  it  all,  —  the 
brightness  of  the  sun,  the  majesty  of  the  night,  — 
the  purity  of  the  winter,  and  the  contentment  of 
the  summer.  MOUNTFORD. 

[296] 


October 


My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me.  —  S.  John 
4  :  24. 

TVTOTHING  is  small  or  great  in  God's  sight; 
J_  Nl  whatever  He  wills  becomes  great  to  us,  how- 
ever seemingly  trifling,  and  if  once  the  voice  of 
conscience  tells  us  that  He  requires  anything  of  us, 
we  have  no  right  to  measure  its  importance.  On 
the  other  hand,  whatever  He  would  not  have  us 
do,  however  important  we  may  think  it,  is  as 
nought  to  us.  How  do  you  know  what  you  may 
lose  by  neglecting  this  duty,  which  you  think  so 
trifling,  or  the  blessing  which  its  faithful  perform- 
ance may  bring  ?  Be  sure  that  if  you  do  your  very 
best  in  that  which  is  laid  upon  you  daily,  you  will 
not  be  left  without  sufficient  help  when  some 
weightier  occasion  arises.  Give  yourself  to  Him, 
trust  Him,  fix  your  eye  upon  Him,  listen  to  His 
voice,  and  then  go  on  bravely  and  cheerfully. 

JEAN   NICHOLAS   GROU. 

I  am  glad  to  think 

I  am  not  bound  to  make  the  world  go  right  ; 
But  only  to  discover  and  to  do, 
With  cheerful  heart,  the  work  that  God  appoints. 

I  will  trust  in  Him, 

That  He  can  hold  His  own  ;  and  I  will  take 
His  will,  above  the  work  He  sendeth  me, 
To  be  my  chiefest  good.  JEAN  INGELOW. 

[297] 


October 


Yea,  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love.  —  Jeremiah 
3i:3- 

WE  know  how  to  love  our  friends  because 
they  are  no  worse  than  we  ;  but  how  Christ 
can  stoop  from  without  the  circle  of  blessed  spirits 
to  love  us,  who  are  begrimed  with  sin,  and  be- 
stormed  with  temptation,  and  wrestling  with  the 
lowest  parts  of  humanity,  —  that  is  past  our  finding 
out.  He  has  loved  us  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  ;  and  because  heaven  was  too  far  away  for  us 
to  see,  He  came  down  to  earth  to  do  the  things 
which  He  has  always  been  doing  profusely  above. 
Christ's  life  of  earth  was  not  an  official  mission  ; 
it  was  a  development  of  His  everlasting  state, 
a  dip  to  bring  within  our  horizon  those  character- 
istics and  attributes  which  otherwise  we  could  not 
comprehend;  —  God's  pilgrimage  on  earth  as  a 
shepherd,  in  search  of  His  wolf-imperilled  fold. 
And  when  I  look  into  His  life  I  say  to  myself,  "As 
tender  as  this,  and  yet  on  earth  ?  What  is  He  now, 
then?"  BEECHER. 

It  passeth  knowledge  :  that  dear  love  of  Thine  ! 
My  Jesus  !    Saviour  !    Yet  this  soul  of  mine 
Would  of  that  love  in  all  its  depth  and  length, 
And  height  and  breadth  and  everlasting  strength 
Know  more  and  more. 

MARY    SHACKELTON. 


[298] 


Get  wisdom:  and  with  all  thy  getting  get  understanding.  — 
Proverbs  15:7. 

Think  of  It. 

THE  secret  of  success  of  one  of  England's 
most  learned  men  was  bound  up  in  four 
little  words,  which  he  took  as  a  motto,  "  I'll  think 
of  it."  And  although  to-day  we  may  think  it 
a  little  thing  to  think,  let  us  learn  that  it  is  the 
power  that  moves  the  world.  That  it  is  the  great 
drive-wheel  of  progress,  driving,  with  its  propelling 
force,  humanity  from  wrong  to  right ;  driving  it 
from  the  dark  shades  of  barbarity  into  the  sun-lit 
regions  of  civilization ;  lifting  it  higher,  step  by 
step,  into  that  glorious  realm,  manhood.  And  as 
surely  as  terrestrial  power  is  drawn  from  the  sun, 
so  surely  is  the  propelling  power  and  influence  over 
man  drawn  from  that  fountain  ever  rich  and  full, 
the  mind. 

Great  truths  are  dearly  bought.    The  common  truth, 
Such  as  men  give  and  take  from  day  to  day, 

Comes  in  the  common  walks  of  easy  life, 
Blown  by  the  ceaseless  wind  across  our  way. 

Great  truths  are  greatly  won.     Not  found  by  chance, 
Nor  wafted  on  the  breath  of  summer  dream, 

But  grasped  in  the  great  struggle  of  the  soul 
Hard  buffeting  with  adverse  wind  and  stream. 

HORATIUS    BONAR. 

[299] 


October 


I  say  unto  thee,  Arise.  —  S.  Luke  7:14. 

HE  meets  us  bearing  forth  our  dead  hopes 
through  the  city's  gate  ;  He  meets  us  when 
our  hearts  are  faint  and  weary  ;  when  we  feel  the 
emptiness  of  all  with  which  this  world  has  sought 
to  cheat  our  earnest  longings  for  the  great,  the 
real,  and  the  true.  He  stands  beside  the  bier,  He 
bids  us  weep  no  more,  He  stops  our  mourning 
steps  ;  the  dead  hear  Him  ;  hopes  of  youth,  aspira- 
tion of  heart,  dreams  of  purity,  of  high  service, 
with  which  once  our  spirits  kept  glad  company,  but 
which  had  withered,  and  sunk,  and  died,  as  the 
hot  and  scorching  sun  of  common  life  arose  upon 
us  —  these  revive  ;  they  turn  to  Him,  and  He  gives 
them  back  to  us,  and  bids  us  cherish  them  for 

Him.  BIBLE   STUDIES. 

Bring  warmth  to  this  coldness,  bring  life  to  this  death  ; 
Renew  the  great  miracle  ;  let  us  behold 
The  stone  from  the  mouth  of  the  sepulchre  rolled, 
And  hope,  like  to  Lazarus,  rise  as  of  old  ! 

Let  our  faith,  which  in  darkness  and  coldness  has  lain, 
Revive  with  the  warmth  and  the  brightness  again, 
And  in  blooming  of  flower  and  budding  of  tree 
The  symbols  and  types  of  our  destiny  see  ; 
The  life  of  the  spring-time,  the  life  of  the  whole, 
And  as  the  sun  to  the  sleeping  earth  love  to  the 

SOul  !  WHITTIER. 

[300] 


Here  a  little  and  there  a  little.  —  Isaiah  28 :  IO. 

THERE  are  no  such  things  as  trifles  in  the 
biography  of  man.  Drops  make  up  the  sea. 
Acorns  cover  the  earth  with  oaks  and  the  ocean 
with  navies.  Sands  make  up  the  bar  in  the  har- 
bor's mouth,  on  which  vessels  are  wrecked ;  and 
little  things  in  youth  accumulate  into  character  in 
age,  and  destiny  in  eternity.  If  you  cannot  be 
a  great  river,  bearing  great  vessels  of  blessing 
to  the  world,  you  can  be  a  little  spring  by  the 
wayside  of  life,  singing  all  the  day  and  all  the 
night,  and  giving  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  every 
weary,  thirsty  one  who  passes  by.  Life  is  made  up 
of  little  things.  He  who  travels  over  a  continent 
must  go  step  by  step.  He  who  writes  books  must 
do  it  sentence  by  sentence.  What  is  the  happiness 
of  our  life  made  up  of  ?  Little  courtesies,  little 
kindnesses,  pleasant  words,  genial  smiles,  a  friendly 
letter,  good  wishes,  and  good  deeds.  One  in 
a  million  —  once  in  a  lifetime  —  may  do  a  heroic 
action ;  but  the  little  things  that  make  up  our  life 
come  every  day  and  every  hour.  If  we  make  the 
little  events  of  life  beautiful  and  good,  then  is 
the  whole  life  full  of  beauty  and  goodness. 

ROYAL   PATH   OF   LIFE. 

See  that  you  have  enough  of  the  little  virtues  and 
common  fidelities,  and  you  need  not  mourn  because 
you  are  neither  a  renowned  hero  nor  a  saint. 

[301] 


October 


This  is  my  Beloved  and  this  is  my  Friend.  —  Song  of  Solo- 
mon 5  :  16. 

Calvary. 

Under  an  Eastern  sky, 
Amid  a  rabble's  cry, 
A  man  went  forth  to  die 

For  me. 

Thorn-crowned  His  blessed  head, 
Blood-stained  His  every  tread  ; 
Cross-laden,  on  he  sped, 

For  me. 

Pierced  glow  His  hands  and  feet, 
Three  hours  o'er  Him  beat 
Fierce  rays  of  noon-tide  heat 

For  me. 

Thus  were  Thou  made  all  mine  : 
Lord  make  me  wholly  Thine  ; 
Grant  grace  and  strength  divine 

To  me. 

In  thought,  and  word,  and  deed 
Thy  will  to  do.     Oh,  lead 
My  soul,  e'en  though  it  bleed, 

To  Thee.  BOSTON  PILOT. 

He  who  was  the  holiest  among  the  mighty,  and 
the  mightiest  among  the  holy,  has,  with  His  pierced 
hand,  lifted  heathenism  off  its  hinges,  and  turned 
the  dolorous  and  accursed  centuries  into  new  chan- 
nels, and  now  governs  the  ages.  RICHTER. 

[302] 


October 


Now  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but 
grievous:  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peaceable 
fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  exercised  thereby. 
Hebrews  12:  n. 

THOSE  who  are  now  at  rest  were  once  like  our- 
selves. They  were  once  weak,  faulty,  sinful  ; 
they  had  their  burdens  and  hindrances,  their  slum- 
bering and  weariness,  their  failures  and  their  falls. 
But  now  they  have  overcome.  Their  life  was  once 
homely  and  commonplace.  Their  day  ran  out  like 
ours.  Morning  and  noon  and  night  came  and 
went  to  them  as  to  us.  Their  life,  too,  was  as 
lonely  and  sad  as  yours.  Little  fretful  circum- 
stances and  frequent  disturbing  changes  wasted 
away  their  hours  as  yours.  There  is  nothing  in 
your  life  that  was  not  in  theirs  ;  there  was  nothing 
in  theirs  but  may  be  also  in  your  own.  They  have 
overcome,  each  one,  and  one  by  one  ;  each  in  his 
turn,  when  the  day  came,  and  God  called  him  to 
the  trial.  And  so  shall  you  likewise. 

H.  E.  MANNING. 

Around  me,  like  a  silver  bell 

Rung  down  the  listening  sky  to  tell 
Of  holy  help,  a  sweet  voice  fell. 

"  Still  hope  and  trust,"  it  sang  ;  "  the  rod 
Must  fall,  the  wine-press  must  be  trod, 
But  all  is  possible  with  God  !  " 

WHITTIER. 

[303] 


/  have  chosen  the  way  of  truth,  —  Psalm  119:  30. 
Truth. 


T 


HE  seat  of  truth  is  in  our  secret  hearts, 
Not   in   the   tongue,   which   falsehood   oft 
imparts.  BRANDON. 

Truth  crushed  to  earth  shall  rise  again, 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers ; 

But  error,  wounded,  writhes  in  pain, 
And  dies  among  his  worshippers. 

BRYANT. 


His  yea  is  Yea  forevermore  ! 

MARGARET   I.  PRESTON. 

No  power  can  die  that  ever  wrought  for  truth. 

J.  R.  LOWELL. 

God  is  the  author  of  truth,  the  devil  the  father 
of  lies.  If  the  telling  of  a  truth  shall  endanger 
thy  life,  the  Author  of  truth  will  protect  thee  from 
danger,  or  reward  thee  for  thy  damage.  If  the 
telling  of  a  lie  may  secure  thy  life,  the  father  of 
lies  will  beguile  thee  of  thy  gains,  or  traduce  the 
security.  Better  by  losing  of  a  life  to  save  it,  than 
by  saving  of  a  life  to  lose  it.  However,  better 
thou  perish  than  the  truth. 


[304] 


October 


And  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace  ;  and  the  effect 
of  righteousness,  quietness  and  assurance  forever.  —  Isaiah 
32:  17. 

AH  !  why  by  passing  clouds  oppressed, 
Should  vexing  thoughts  distract  thy  breast  : 
Turn  thou  to  Him  in  every  pain, 
Whom  suppliant  never  sought  in  vain  ; 
Thy  strength  in  joy's  ecstatic  day, 
Thy  hope,  when  joy  has  passed  away. 

H.  F.  LYTE. 

We  have  only  to  be  patient,  to  pray,  and  to  do 
His  will,  according  to  our  present  light  and  strength, 
and  the  growth  of  the  soul  will  go  on.  The  plant 
grows  in  the  mist  and  under  clouds  as  truly  as  under 
sunshine.  So  does  the  heavenly  principle  within. 

W.  E.  CHANNING. 

Reparation. 

In  the  midnight  darkness  deep, 

Shrouding  all  my  room, 
Somewhere  tender  violets 

Hide  their  purple  bloom. 

Darker,  softer,  grows  the  night, 

Deeper  still  the  gloom  ; 
Penetrating,  rich,  intense, 

Breathes  the  blest  perfume. 

GRACE   DUFFIELD   GOODWIN. 


jljotember 

9- 


His  mercy  endureth  for  ever.  —  Psalm  107:  I. 

of  heaven  to  light  our  pathway, 
Word  our  fainting  souls  to  cheer, 
Peace  to  calm  our  sad  forebodings 

When  our  spirits  shrink  with  fear,  — 
Courage  for  renewed  endeavor 

When  our  failures  we  deplore  — 
"  God's  great  mercy  still  endureth 
Now  and  always,  evermore." 

Calm  assurance  for  misgiving 

When  we  falter  by  the  way, 
Sweet  reply  to  anxious  questions 

When  we  know  not  what  we  say, 
Strength  and  wisdom  for  our  guidance, 

Word  of  truth  from  heaven's  lore, 
Given  for  our  consolation,  — 

"  Mercy  stands  forever  more." 

Like  a  heavenly  benediction 

Falling  on  us  from  above, 
Sinking  deep  in  every  spirit, 

Are  those  precious  words  of  love  ; 
And  the  message  thrills  us  ever 

As  we  whisper  o'er  and  o'er, 
"  O  the  mercy  pure,  transcendent  — 

Which  endures  forever  more  !  " 
[306] 


In  him    dwelleth    all  the  fulness  of  the   Godhead  bodily.  — 
Colossians  2 :  9. 


L 


AY  hold  of  Christ  with  both  your  poor,  empty 
hands.  ELIZABETH  PRENTISS. 


Every  day  we  see  something  new  in  Christ.  His 
love  hath  neither  brim  nor  bottom. 

We  may  have  as  much  of  God  as  we  will.  Christ 
puts  the  key  of  the  treasure-chamber  into  our  hand, 
and  bids  us  take  all  we  want.  If  a  man  is  admitted 
into  the  bullion  vault  of  a  bank,  and  told  to  help 
himself,  and  comes  out  with  one  cent,  whose  fault 
is  it  that  he  is  poor?  Whose  fault  is  it  that  Chris- 
tian people  generally  have  such  scanty  portions  of 
the  fine  riches  of  God?  MCLAREN. 

Thou,  O  most  compassionate, 
Who  didst  stoop  to  our  estate, 
Drinking  of  the  cup  we  drain, 
Treading  in  our  path  of  pain, 
Through  the  doubt  and  mystery, 
Grant  to  us  Thy  steps  to  see, 
And  the  grace  to  draw  from  thence 
Larger  hope  and  confidence. 
Show  Thy  vacant  tomb  and  let 
As  of  old  the  angels  sit 
Whispering  by  its  open  door, 
"  Fear  not,  He  hath  gone  before." 

WHITHER. 
[307] 


jgofcember 


To  die  is  gain.  —  Philippians  l:  21. 

If  a  man  die  he  shall  live  again.  —  Leviticus  18  :  5. 

WE  are  glad  for  those  who  go,  going  forth  by 
permission  by  the  door  of  life  and  death.  We 
are  glad  for  those  whose  work  is  completed  ;  who 
rest  from  it  ;  whose  life  is  purified  upon  this  sphere, 
and  begins  to  blossom  in  the  other.  We  rejoice 
that  Thou  art  taking  from  out  of  the  company  of 
sinful  men,  and  from  the  midst  of  troubles  in  this 
life,  one  and  another  into  the  dear  delights  of  their 
Father's  kingdom,  and  that  they  that  sang  here  are 
to-day  singing  more  sweetly  above.  BEECHER. 

If  one  had  watched  a  prisoner  many  a  year, 
Standing  behind  a  barred  window-pane, 
Fettered  with  heavy  hand-cuff  and  with  chain, 
And  gazing  on  the  blue  sky,  far  and  clear  ; 
And  suddenly  some  morning  he  should  hear 
The  man  in  the  night  had  contrived  to  gain 
His  freedom,  and  was  safe,  would  this  bring  pain  ? 
Ah,  would  it  not  to  dullest  heart  appear 
Good  tidings? 

Yesterday  I  looked  on  one 
Who  lay  as  if  asleep  in  perfect  peace. 
His  long  imprisonment  for  life  was  done. 
Eternity's  great  freedom  his  release 
Had  brought.     Yet  they  who  loved  him  called  him 

dead, 
And  wept,  refusing  to  be  comforted.         H.  B.  M. 

[308] 


IJofcember 

jfourtl) 


As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul 
after  thee,  O  God.  —  Psalm  42  :  I. 

IN  the  soul  the  elements  of  decay  do  not  enter  — 
it  longs  for  things  immortal  ;  it  perpetuates 
nationalities,  and  builds  pyramids  to  the  skies  ;  its 
nature  is  instinctively  far-reaching  and  goes  out  in 
its  longings  after  the  eternal  —  the  Infinite  ;  its 
powers  develop  themselves  while  striving  to  build 
something  lasting,  which  shall  survive  the  wrecks  of 
time.  The  soul  continually  longs  for  something 
beyond  its  reach  ;  it  even  longs  for  a  perfection 
which  will  satisfy  its  ideal,  and  is  never  satisfied  — 
is  ever  restless.  Death  is  the  point  where  Divinity 
claims  its  own  —  eternity  dawns  on  the  soul  in  its 
grandeur  at  last  ;  the  mortal  has  put  on  immortal- 
ity —  that  which  was  inherent  still  remains.  Death 
is  the  portal  where  the  soul  and  body  part  forever, 
from  which  the  soul  wings  its  flight  to  its  future 
abode. 

God  only  is  the  creature's  home, 

Though  long  and  rough  the  road  ; 
Yet  nothing  less  can  satisfy 
The  love  that  longs  for  God. 

How  little  of  that  road,  my  soul, 

How  little  hast  thou  gone  ! 
Take  heart,  and  let  the  thought  of  God 

Allure  thee  further  on. 

[309] 


jFtftt) 

As  one  whom  his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you. 
Isaiah  66:  13. 

LIKE  a  cradle,  rocking,  rocking, 
Silent,  peaceful,  to  and  fro, 
Like  a  mother's  sweet  looks  dropping 
On  the  little  face  below, 
Hangs  the  green  earth,  swinging,  turning, 
Jarless,  noiseless,  safe,  and  slow  ; 
Falls  the  light  of  God's  face  bending 
Down  and  watching  us  below. 

And  as*  feeble  babes  that  suffer, 
Toss  and  cry  and  will  not  rest, 
Are  the  ones  the  tender  mother 
Holds  the  closest,  loves  the  best ; 
So  when  we  are  weak  and  wretched, 
By  our  sins  weighed  down,  distressed, 
Then  it  is  that  God's  great  patience 
Holds  us  closest,  loves  us  best. 

O  great  heart  of  God  !  whose  loving 
Cannot  hindered  be  or  crossed, 
Will  not  weary,  will  not  even 
In  our  death  itself  be  lost — 
Love  divine  !  of  such  great  loving, 
Only  mothers  know  the  cost  — 
Cost  of  love,  which  all  love  passing, 
Gave  a  Son  to  save  the  lost. 

SAKE    HOLM. 


Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  ivith  thy  might ;  for 
there  is  no  work,  nor '  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom  in 
the  grave.  —  Ecclesiastes  9  :  10. 

ONE  secret  act  of  self-denial,  one  sacrifice  of 
inclination    to   duty,  is  worth   all  the  mere 
good  thoughts,  warm  feelings,  passionate  prayers, 
in  which  idle  people  indulge  themselves. 

NEWMAN. 

Without  a  diligent  and  faithful  obedience  to  the 
calls  and  claims  of  others  upon  us,  our  religious 
profession  is  simply  dead.  Neglect  of  charitable 
offices  will  miserably  darken  our  own  hearts,  and 
hide  the  face  of  God  from  us.  H.  E.  MANNING. 

We  mean  to  do  it :  some  day,  some  day, 
We  mean  to  slacken  this  fevered  rush 

That  is  wearing  our  very  souls  away, 
And  grant  to  our  goaded  hearts  a  hush 

That  is  holy  enough  to  let  them  hear 

The  footsteps  of  angels  drawing  near. 

The  day  we  dreamed  of  comes  at  length, 
When,  tired  of  every  mocking  guest, 

And  broken  in  spirit  and  shorn  of  strength, 
We  drop,  indeed,  at  the  door  of  rest ; 

And  wait,  and  watch,  as  the  days  wane  on  — 

But  the  angels  we  meant  to  call  are  gone. 

MARGARET  J.  PRESTON. 


/  have  trodden  the  wine  press  alone.  —  Isaiah  63 :  3. 
Surely  he  hath  borne  our  sorrows.  —  Isaiah  53:4. 

EFE'S  battles  thou  must  fight  all  single-handed, 
No  friend,  however  dear,  can  bear  thy  pain. 
No  other  soul  can  ever  bear  thy  burdens, 
No  other  hand  for  thee  the  prize  may  gain. 

Lonely  we  journey  through  this  vale  of  sorrow, 
No  heart,  in  full,  respondeth  to  our  own  ; 

Each  one  alone  must  meet  his  own  to-morrow, 
Each  one  must  tread  the  weary  way  alone. 

Ah  !  weary  heart !  why  art  thou  sad  and  lonely  ? 

Why  this  vain  longing  for  an  answering  sigh  ? 
Thy  griefs,  thy  longings,  trials  and  temptations 

Are  known  and  felt  by  Him  who  reigns  on  high. 

ANNA   HOLYOKE   HOWARD. 

An  hour  of  solitude,  passed  in  sincere  and  ear- 
nest prayer  in  conflict  with,  and  conquest  over,  a 
single  passion  or  subtle  bosom  sin,  will  teach  us 
more  of  thought,  will  more  effectually  awaken  the 
faculty  and  form  the  habit  of  reflection  than  a 
year's  study  in  the  schools  without  them. 

COLERIDGE. 

By  all  means,  use  sometimes  to  be  alone ; 

Salute  thyself,  see  what  thy  soul  doth  wear ; 
Dare  to  look  in  thy  chest,  for  'tis  thine  own  — 

And  tumble  up  and  down  whate'er  thou  findest 
there.  HERBERT. 


If  ye  endure  chastening  God  dealeth  -with  you  as  sons ;  for 
•what  son  is  he  •whom  the  father  chasteneth  not  ?  —  Hebrews 
12:7. 

GOD  is  as  incapable  of  being  indifferent  towards 
His  lost  mankind,  as  is  a  mother  towards  her 
lost  child.  Lost  mankind  are  not  only  His  lost, 
but  His  lost  children.  Does  not  the  Source  of  all 
hearts  feel?  And  is  He  not  concerned  for  His  lost? 
In  the  Divinity  of  indifference  I  cannot  believe.  I 
could  far  more  easily  believe  that  the  Divine  Heart 
carries  a  huge  grief;  and  that  "the  Man  of  Sor- 
rows "  only  partially  represents  the  tenderness  of 
Infinite  Love.  In  human  hearts,  in  mother's  love, 
in  angelic  love,  and  in  the  person  of  Jesus,  the 
affections  of  God  have  a  wide  and  wonderful  revela- 
tion ;  but  what  the  Divine  Affections  are  in  their 
Fountain-head  must  be  beyond  all  revealing  and 
conceiving.  PULSFORD. 

God  liveth  ever ! 

Wherefore,  soul,  despair  thou  never  ! 
What  though  thou  treadest  with  bleeding  feet 

A  thorny  path  of  grief  and  gloom, 
Thy  God  will  choose  the  way  most  meet 
To  lead  thee  heavenward,  lead  thee  home. 

For  this  life's  long  night  of  sadness 

He  will  give  thee  peace  and  gladness  ; 

Soul,  forget  not  in  thy  pains 

Good  o'er  all  forever  reigns.  ZIBU. 

[313] 


jljotember 


My  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee  rest.  — 
Exodus  33  :  14. 

HOW  shall  we  rest  in  God?  By  giving  our- 
selves wholly  to  Him.  If  you  give  yourself 
by  halves  you  cannot  find  full  rest  ;  there  will  ever 
be  a  lurking  disquiet  in  that  half  which  is  withheld. 
Martyrs  and  saints  have  tested  this  rest  "  and 
counted  themselves  happy  in  that  they  endured." 
A  countless  host  of  God's  faithful  servants  have 
drunk  deeply  of  it  under  the  daily  burden  of  a 
weary  life  —  dull,  commonplace,  painful,  or  deso- 
late. All  that  God  has  been  to  them  He  is  ready 
to  be  to  you.  The  heart  once  fairly  given  to  God, 
with  a  clear  conscience,  a  fitting  rule  of  life,  and  a 
steadfast  purpose  of  obedience,  you  will  find  a 
wonderful  sense  of  rest  coming  over  you. 

JEAN  NICHOLAS   GROU. 

By  Thine  unerring  Spirit  led, 

We  shall  not  in  the  desert  stray  ; 
We  shall  not  full  direction  need, 

Nor  miss  our  providential  way  ; 
As  far  from  danger  as  from  fear 
While  love,  Almighty  love,  is  near. 

CHARLES   WESLEY. 

With  God  for  my  friend  I  pass  through  my  life  in 
peace.  In  fellowship  with  Him  I  find  a  rest  from 
all  earthly  dangers  and  fatigues. 


jljctocmber 


The  Lord»shall  lift  you  up.  —  S.  James  4  :  10. 

Lift  Me  Higher. 

LIFT  me  higher,  O  my  Saviour, 
As  I  journey  on  my  way, 
Help  me  over  life's  deep  pitfalls, 
Draw  me  nearer  day  by  day  ; 
Lift  me  up  from  doubt  and  darkness, 

Let  me  feel  Thy  loving  care, 
While  I  hear  Thy  tender  accents 
Like  a  whisper  in  the  air. 

Lift  me  from  unworthy  self-hood, 

Let  me  set  my  will  aside 
While  I  measure  Thy  forbearance, 

While  I  count  Thy  mercies  wide  ; 
Every  burden,  every  trial, 

Every  sorrow  I  may  feel, 
Every  act  of  lowly  service,  — 

May  they  lift  me  higher  still  ! 

When  I  drink  from  broken  cisterns 

Lead  me  to  Thy  living  wells, 
Drop  my  bucket  in  the  waters 

Where  life's  current  freely  swells  ; 
That  my  thirsty,  fainting  spirit, 

Worn  with  toil  and  weary  strife, 
May  be  lifted  to  salvation 

And  to  everlasting  life. 

MARTHA   CAPPS   OLIVER. 

[315] 


Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not :   let  not  the  sun  go  down  ttpon  your 
wrath.  —  Ephesians  4 :  26. 


B 


E  angry  and  sin  not!" — the  easiest  charge 


He  that  will  be  angry  and  not  sin,  let  him  be  angry 
at  nothing  but  sin.  j.  TRAPP. 

"  Forgiveness  before  sundown  ! "  He  who  never 
feels  the  throb  of  indignation  is  imbecile.  He 
who  can  walk  among  the  injustices  of  the  world 
inflicted  upon  himself  and  others,  without  flush  of 
cheek  or  flash  of  eye,  or  agitation  of  nature,  is 
either  in  sympathy  with  wrong,  or  devoid  of  feel- 
ing. It  all  depends  on  what  you  are  angry  at,  and 
how  long  the  feeling  lasts,  whether  anger  is  right 
or  wrong.  TALMAGE. 

Anger  becomes  sinful  if  wrongly  directed,  or  if 
there  be  an  inadequate  cause  for  it.  A  natural 
manifestation  of  indignation  is  manly,  and  is  often 
absolutely  necessary  to  resent  an  injury. 

A  lesson  which  I  well  may  heed, 
A  word  of  fitness  to  my  need. 

Search  thine  own  heart.     What  paineth  thee 
In  others  in  thyself  may  be  ; 
All  dust  is  frail,  all  flesh  is  weak ; 
Be  thou  the  man  that  thou  dost  seek. 

[3I6]  WHITTIER. 


IJofoembet; 


Yet  a  little  while  and  he  that  shall  come  will  come,  and  will 
not  tarry.  —  Hebrews  10  :  37. 

GOD  comes  to  His  people  in  an  undisclosed 
and  unrecognized  form,  in  the  hours  of  their 
despondency.  That  which  seems  to  us  to  be  a 
cloud  and  darkness  is,  after  all,  but  the  garment 
in  the  midst  of  which  Christ  is  walking.  All  right 
occupations,  all  duties,  all  fidelities,  bring  along 
with  them  a  divine  presence.  We  are  never  alone. 
The  most  menial  callings,  routine,  occupations, 
things  not  agreeable  in  themselves,  but  necessary, 
and  things  of  duty,  all  of  them  have  or  may  have 
with  them  a  Christ. 

I  cannot  think  but  God  must  know 
About  the  thing  I  long  for  so  ; 
I  know  He  is  so  good,  so  kind, 
I  cannot  think  but  He  will  find 

Some  way  to  help,  some  way  to  show 
Me  to  the  thing  I  long  for  so. 

SAXE  HOLM. 

Patiently  wait,  for  His  steps  will  not  tarry, 
Patiently  listen  —  He  cometh  apace  ;  — 

"  Only  a  little  time  "  —  thou  who  art  weary, 
Then  shalt  behold  Him  and  gaze  on  His  face. 

All  thou  hast  longed  for  He  brings  at  His  coming  ; 

Down  the  dim  ages  Thy  gift  cometh  sure, 
See  that  thy  hands  are  made  fit  to  receive  it, 

See  that  thy  heart  and  thy  spirit  are  pure. 

[317]  M-  c-  °- 


Jjotember 


Mighty  to  save.  —  Isaiah  63  :  I. 

JESUS  CHRIST  takes  men,  not  because  they  are 
clean,  but  because  they  are  willing  to  be  taken. 
He  takes  them  in  all  their  poorness  and  leanness, 
and  irregularities,  and  says,  "  I  am  willing  to  carry 
you  and  bear  with  you  through  your  whole  life  if 
I  can  see  that  in  the  end  my  affection  and  patience 
will  bring  you  into  the  enjoyment  of  the  eternal 
inheritance."  It  is  the  cleansing,  forgiving,  endur- 
ing, remedial  love  of  Christ  Jesus  that  gives  a  man 
hope.  When  wrong  rises  up  in  me  I  feel  that  there 
is  something  higher  than  that.  It  is  the  faithful- 
ness of  Christ,  and  the  wonderful  power  of  Christ's 
love  to  redeem  men  from  sin,  that  gives  me  hope. 

Mine  is  a  day  of  fear  and  strife, 
A  needy  soul,  a  needy  life, 
A  needy  world,  a  needy  age  ; 
Yet,  in  my  perilous  pilgrimage, 

I  cast  my  soul  on  Thee, 

Mighty  to  save,  even  me, 

Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God. 

To  Thee  I  come  ;  ah  !  only  Thou 
Canst  wipe  the  sweat  from  off  this  brow  ; 
Thou,  only  Thou,  canst  make  me  whole, 
And  soothe  the  fever  of  my  soul  ; 
I  cast  my  soul  on  Thee, 
Mighty  to  save  e'en  me, 
Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  God. 


Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us.  —  I  Samuel  7:12. 

WE  are  often  speculating  on  what  is  to  come. 
You  who  trust  that  you  are  God's  children 
may  take  one  answer  as  regards  the  coming  years  : 
you  are  going  forth  into  nothing  but  goodness.  I 
cannot  say  that  you  may  not  be  going  forth  to  meet 
trouble,  toil,  disappointment.  It  may  be ;  but  if 
you  are  at  God's  side  you  are  going  forward  to 
nothing  but  good.  If  the  worst  that  you  fear  shall 
come  to  pass,  you  will  find  His  goodness  hidden 
in  the  very  heart  of  the  disaster. 

M.  R.  VINCENT. 

The  years  have  taught  me  many  things, 

But  none  so  sure  as  this  : 
That  shelter,  solace,  joy,  and  strength 

Are  always  where  God  is. 

So  now,  when  hope  and  courage  fail. 

And  only  fear  is  strong, 
My  heart  will  sing,  as  in  the  past, 

An  unforgotten  song. 

God  is  my  Yefuge  and  my  strength, 

I  will  not  be  afraid  ; 
And  though  the  night  be  wild  and  dark, 

I  meet  it  undismayed. 

MARIANNE    FARNINGHAM. 
[319] 


Jljcfoembcr 

jFifteentl) 


The  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  com- 
pared -with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us.  —  Romans 
8:18. 

r  I  "HERE  come  times  in  every  life  when  men 
JL  must  undergo  a  crucial  test.  But  the  per- 
fection of  Christian  loyalty  is  to  trust  God  even 
though  He  slays  us  through  those  affections  and 
desires  that  are  dearest  to  us. 

How  blest  is  that  man  who  receives  every  pain 
and  trouble  as  a  divine  messenger  sent  by  his 
Heavenly  Father,  and  so  enters  into  a  fuller  fel- 
lowship and  sympathy  with  his  Saviour  ! 

What  will  it  matter,  by  and  by, 

Whether  with  cheek  to  cheek  I've  lain 
Close  by  the  pallid  angel,  Pain  ; 

Soothing  myself  through  sob  and  sigh  ? 

"  All  will  be  elsewise  by  and  by  !  " 

What  will  it  matter?  Naught,  if  I 
Only  am  sure  the  way  I've  trod, 
Gloomy  or  gladdened,  leads  to  God  ; 

Questioning  not  of  the  how,  the  why, 
If  I  but  reach  Him,  by  and  by. 

Ah  !  it  will  matter,  by  and  by, 

Nothing  but  this  —  that  joy  or  pain 
Lifted  me  skyward,  helped  me  gain, 
Whether  through  rack  or  smile  or  sigh, 
Heaven,  —  home,  —  all  in  all,  by  and  by  ! 

HELEN   HUNT   JACKSON. 


Thy  thoughts  shall  be  established.  —  Psalm  16:3. 

ONE  thought  I  have,  my  ample  creed, 
So  deep  it  is  and  broad, 
And  equal  to  my  every  need,  — 
It  is  the  thought  of  God. 

At  night  my  gladness  is  my  prayer ; 

I  drop  my  daily  load, 
And  every  care  is  pillowed  there 

Upon  the  thought  of  God. 

Make  yourselves  nests  of  pleasant  thoughts. 
None  of  us  yet  know  what  fairy  palaces  we  may 
build  of  beautiful  thought  —  proof  against  all  ad- 
versity. Bright  fancies,  satisfied  memories,  noble 
histories,  faithful  sayings,  treasure-houses  of  pre- 
cious and  restful  thoughts,  which  care  cannot  dis- 
turb, nor  pain  make  gloomy,  nor  poverty  take  away 
from  us,  —  houses  built  without  hands,  for  our  souls 
to  live  in.  RUSKIN. 

The  truth  and  sincerity  of  God  to  His  people 
appears  in  the  openness  and  plainness  of  His 
thought  as  He  makes  it  known  to  them.  A  friend 
who  is  reserved  naturally  comes  under  a  cloud  in 
the  thoughts  of  his  /companions,  but  he  who  carries 
a  window  of  crystal  in  his  breast  delivers  himself 
from  all  suspicion  of  unfaithfulness.  And  thus  is 
God  open-hearted  to  His  saints. 


There  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  ;  for  the  former  things 
have  passed  away.  —  Revelation  21 :  4. 

METHOUGHT  I  walked  along  a  pleasant  way, 
Sunlight  and  shadow  flecking  leaf  and  sod, 
And,  hand  in  my  hand,  was  one  beside  me 

trod, 
Her  fair  face  adding  brightness  to  the  day. 

Sudden  we  came  upon  a  hidden  door, 

And  she  that  walked  beside  me  passed  within, 
Nor  did  return.     But  where  she  "late  had  been 

There  came  a  voice  that  clamored  "  Nevermore  ! " 

That  Voice  I  knew ;  but  straightway,  seemingly, 
From  the  shut  door  a  gentle  echo  rung, 
And  "  Evermore  !  "  still  "  Evermore  !  "  it  sung, 

And  ever  softer  and  more  dreamingly. 

God  of  the  living  !  from  within  the  door  — 
No  echo  —  came  that  blest  word  "  Evermore  ! " 

JOHN    W.    CHADWICK. 

And  even  now  we  may  anticipate  the  glory  of 
that  time  when  "  there  shall  be  no  more  death, 
neither  sorrow  nor  crying."  If  we  keep  the  city 
of  our  heart  holy  with  the  presence  of  a  living 
Christ  we  may  believe  that  they  are  even  now  with 
us  in  sympathy  and  sweet  communion,  and  that  it 
is  not  death,  but  fulness  of  life  upon  which  they 
have  entered  through  the  door  of  the  grave. 

[322] 


<fi;igl)teewl) 

The    Lord  has  set  apart  him  that  is  godly  for  himself. — 
Psalm  6:3. 

CONSECRATION  is  not  wrapping  one's  self 
in  a  holy  web  in  the  sanctuary,  and  then 
coming  forth  after  prayer  and  twilight  meditation 
and  saying,  "There,  I  am  consecrated."  Conse- 
cration is  going  out  in  the  world  where  God  is,  and 
using  every  power  for  His  glory.  It  is  taking  all 
advantages  as  trust  funds,  as  confidential  debts 
owed  to  God.  It  is  simply  dedicating  one's  life 
in  its  whole  flow  to  God's  service.  BIBLE  STUDIES. 

Take  my  soul  and  body's  powers ; 

Take  my  memory,  mind,  and  will, 
All  my  goods  and  all  my  hours ; 

All  I  know  and  all  I  feel ; 
All  I  think,  or  speak,  or  do  ; 
Take  my  heart  but  make  it  new. 

Now,  O  God,  Thine  own  I  am, 

Now  I  give  Thee  back  Thine  own ; 

Freedom,  friends,  and  health  and  fame, 
Consecrate  to  Thee  alone  ; 

Thine  I  live,  thrice  happy  I ; 

Happier  still  if  Thine  I  die. 

CHARLES.  WESLEY. 

God  wants  more  than  our  money  —  He  wants 
ourselves.  If  self  is  consecrated,  that  will  settle 
all  else. 

[323] 


jpmeteentl) 

My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee ;  for  my  strength  is  made 
perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  rather 
glory  in  my  infirmities.  —  2  Corinthians  12:9. 

DR.  GEORGE  MATHERSON  of  Scotland  is 
totally  blind,  and  yet  he  is  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  gifted  men  in  all  Britain.  The  fol- 
lowing touching  words  from  his  pen  ought  to 
strengthen  the  Christian  patience  of  God's  afflicted 
children :  "  My  God,  I  have  never  thanked  Thee 
for  my  thorn.  I  have  thanked  Thee  a  thousand 
times  for  my  roses,  but  not  once  for  my  thorn.  I 
have  been  looking  forward  to  a  world  where  I  shall 
receive  compensation  for  my  cross,  but  I  have 
never  thought  of  my  cross  as  itself  a  present  glory. 
Thou,  Divine  Love,  whose  human  path  has  been 
perfected  through  sufferings,  teach  me  the  glory 
of  my  cross ;  teach  me  the  value  of  my  thorn. 
Show  me  that  I  have  climbed  to  Thee  by  the  path 
of  pain.  Show  me  that  my  tears  have  made  my 
rainbow.  Reveal  to  me  that  my  strength  was  the 
product  of  the  hour  when  I  wrestled  until  the  break 
of  day.  Then  shall  I  know  that  my  thorn  was 
blessed  by  Thee. 

Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 

Nearer  to  Thee ; 
Even  though  it  be  a  cross 

That  raiseth  -me. 

SARAH    FLOWER    ADAMS. 
[324] 


Hold  me  up  and  I  shall  be  safe.  —  Psalm  119:  117. 

WHEN  on  my  day  of  life  the  night  is  falling, 
And  in  the  winds  from  unsunned  spaces 

blown, 

I  hear  far  voices  out  of  darkness  calling 
My  feet  to  paths  unknown. 

Thou  who  hast  made  my  home  of  life  so  pleasant, 
Leave  not  its  tenant  when  its  walls  decay ; 

0  Love  divine,  O  Helper  ever  present, 
Be  Thou  my  strength  and  stay  ! 

Be  near  me  when  all  else  is  from  me  drifting  — 
Earth,  sky,  home's  picture,  days  of  shade  and 
shine, 

And  kindly  faces  to  my  own  uplifting 
The  love  which  answers  mine. 

Suffice  it  if  my  good  and  ill  unreckoned, 

And  both  forgiv'n  through  Thy  abounding  grace, 

1  find  myself  by  hands  familiar  beckoned 
Unto  my  fitting  place. 

Some  humble  door  among  Thy  many  mansions, 

Sonie  sheltering  shade  where  sin  and  striving  cease, 
And  flows  forever  through  heaven's  green  expansions, 

The  river  of  Thy  peace. 

WHITHER. 

[325] 


jijctoembet; 


Thou  art  my  hiding-place  ;  thou  shall  preserve  me  from 
trouble  ;  thou  shall  compass  me  about  with  songs  of  deliver- 
ance. —  Psalm  32  :  7. 

CHRIST  is  the  "hiding-place  from  the  wind," 
v_x  the  "covert  from  the  tempest,"  the  "Great 
Rock  "  in  a  weary  land.  He  hides  His  own  in  the 
cleft  of  the  rock  till  danger  be  past.  He  shelters 
them  when  the  tempest  rages.  He  defends  them 
when  assaulted  by  temptation,  and  covers  their 
defenceless  heads  in  the  day  of  battle.  Fleeing  to 
the  Refuge,  they  find  ample  protection,  and  are 
made  to  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 
No  wind  can  blight  them  there  ;  no  tempest  dis- 
turb the  serenity  of  their  souls.  Almighty  love  is 
their  refuge  ;  incarnate  mercy  is  their  solace,  life, 
and  repose.  BARROW. 

I  know  not  what  my  life  shall  hold 
Of  love,  or  light  ; 

Only,  that  safe  within  the  fold, 
It  shall  be  right. 

I  only  seek  to  find  the  ways 

His  feet  have  pressed  ; 
And  feel,  through  dark  or  fairer  days, 

"  He  knoweth  best." 

All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed, 
All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring  ; 

Cover  my  defenceless  head 
With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing  ! 

[326]  CHARLES   WESLEY. 


When  my  father  and  mother  forsake  me.  —  Psalm  27  : 10. 

BACKWARD,  turn  backward,  O  Time,  in  your 
flight, 

Make  me  a  child  again,  just  for  to-night ! 
Mother,  come  back  from  the  echoless  shore, 
Take  me  again  to  your  heart  as  of  yore ; 
Kiss  from  my  forehead  the  furrows  of  care, 
Smooth  the  few  silver  threads  out  of  my  hair ; 
Over  my  slumbers  your  loving  watch  keep  — 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother,  rock  me  to  sleep  ! 

Backward,  flow  backward,  O  tide  of  the  years  ! 
I  am  so  weary  of  toil  and  of  tears  — 
Toil  without  recompense  —  tears  all  in  vain  — 
Take  them,  and  give  me  my  childhood  again  ! 
I  have  grown  weary  of  dust  and  decay — 
Weary  of  flinging  my  soul-wealth  away ; 
Weary  of  sowing  for  others  to  reap  — 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother,  rock  me  to  sleep  ! 

Tired  of  the  hollow,  the  base,  the  untrue, 
Mother,  O  Mother,  my  heart  calls  for  you ; 
Many  a  summer  the  grass  has  grown  green, 
Blossomed  and  faded,  our  faces  between ; 
Yet  with  strong  yearning  and  passionate  pain, 
Long  I  to-night  for  your  presence  again. 
Come  from  the  silence  so  long  and  so  deep  — 
Rock  me  to  sleep,  mother,  rock  me  to  sleep  ! 

FLORENCE   PERCY. 


The  upright  shall  dwell  in  thy  presence.  —  Psalm  III:  13. 

SOME  Christians  seem  to  think  that  they  must 
be  always  going  up  to  mounts  of  extraordinary 
joy  and  revelation.  This  is  not  after  God's  method. 
Those  spiritual  visits  to  high  places,  and  that  won- 
derful intercourse  with  the  unseen  world  are  not 
in  the  promises ;  the  daily  life  of  invisible  com- 
munion is;  and  it  is  enough.  We  shall  have  the 
exceptional  revelation  if  it  be  right  for  us.  No  one 
can  stay  on  the  mount  of  privilege.  There  are 
duties  in  the  valley.  j.  VAUGHN. 

There  were  but  three  disciples  allowed  to  see  the 
transfiguration,  and  those  three  entered  the  gloom 
of  Gethsemane.  STORRS. 

Oh,  if  this  living  soul,  that  many  a  time 
Above  the  low  things  of  the  earth  doth  climb 
Up  to  the  mountain-top  of  faith  sublime, — 

If  she  could  only  stay 

In  that  high  place  alway, 

And  hear  in  reverence  bowed 

God's  voice  behind  the  cloud  ! 
Ah  !  what  a  world  were  ours  to  journey  through, 
What  deeds  of  love  and  mercy  we  should  do ; 
Making  our  lives  so  beautiful  and  true, 

That  in  our  face  would  shine 

The  light  of  love  divine, 

Showing  that  we  had  stood 

Upon  the  mount  of  God. 

[328]  PHCEBE   GARY. 


Forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind.  —  Philippians  1:13. 

Let  the  Grass  Grow. 

LET  the  grass  grow  over  your  graves 
Of  sorrow  and  sin  and  care  ; 
Let  the  grass  grow  over  your  saddened  shame, 

And  your  misery  of  despair ; 
Let  the  grass  grow  over  your  long-nursed  woe, 

And  the  fear  of  that  awful  doubt ; 
Let  the  grass  grow  over  the  sin  and  the  hate 
That  brought  the  trouble  about. 

There  is  a  balm  in  forgetfulness.  It  heals  all 
hurts  and  soothes  all  sorrows,  and  gives  the  soul 
time  to  grow  strong  again.  We  have  sinned,  we 
have  suffered.  Aye,  but  we  have  repented  those 
sins  in  bitterness  and  tears.  Now  leave  it  all  with 
the  pitiful  Father,  and  "  forgetting  the  things  which 
are  behind,  reach  forth  unto  those  things  which  are 
before."  Sorrow,  if  too  long  indulged,  enfeebles 
the  soul.  The  best  proof  of  our  repentance  of 
past  sins  is  to  try  bravely  to  retrieve  them,  to  sow 
flowers  where  we  planted  thorns  —  to  be  an  active 
power  for  good.  Sin  is  a  terrible  blot  upon  the 
life,  but  great  is  God's  mercy  to  those  who  have 
repented,  to  those  who  fear  Him.  "As  far  as  the 
east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  hath  he  removed  our 
transgressions  from  us."  The  trusting  heart  will 
show  its  gratitude  for  the  blotting  out  of  its  sins  by 
"  forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind." 
[329] 


They  desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  an  heavenly.  —  He- 
brews ii :  1 6. 

IF  dying  were  to  be  thrust  out  of  life  into  a.  land 
where  we  have  no  friends,  where  there  are  none 
that  know  us  and  where  we  know  none,  it  would  be 
a  sad  thing  indeed.  But  if  our  names  are  known 
in  heaven ;  if  they  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book 
of  Life  ;  then  heaven  will  be  familiar  to  us,  and 
dying  will  not  be  deplored.  After  this  life  is  over 
heaven  will  seem  to  us  like  home.  Our  losses  fly 
up  there  and  become  riches.  We  give  to  heavenly 
fields  what  we  lose  from  earth.  And  the  belief  that 
in  heaven  our  fathers  have  long  dwelt,  that  we  are 
going  there  ...  is  everlasting  indeed. 

Who  would  not  go 

With  buoyant  steps  to  gain  that  blessed  portal 

Which  opens  to  the  land  we  long  to  know, 
Where  shall  be  satisfied  the  souls  immortal ; 
Where  we  shall  drop  the  wearying  and  the  woe 
In  resting  so? 

Oh,  wondrous  land  ! 

Fairer  than  all  our  spirits'  fairest  dreaming, 
"  Eye  hath  not  seen  "  —  no  heart  can  under- 
stand 
The  things  prepared,  the  cloudless  radiance 

streaming. 
How  longingly  we  wait  our  Lord's  command, 

His  opening  hand  ! 
[330] 


The  Lord  hear  Ihee  in  the  day  of  trouble ;  the  name  of  the 
God  of  Jacob  defend  thee.  — Psalm  2O:  I. 

WHAT  wish  could  be  more  sympathetic  or 
more  consolatory,  "  The  Lord  hear  thee 
in  the  day  of  trouble"  !  And  who  is  there  of  the 
sons  of  men  to  whom  "  a  day  of  trouble  "  does  not 
come,  whose  path  is  not  darkened  at  times  ?  "  Few 
plants,"  says  old  Jacomb,  "  have  both  morning  and 
evening  sun  " ;  and  one  far  older  than  he  said, 
"Man  is  born  to  trouble."  "A  day  of  trouble," 
then,  is  the  heritage  of  every  child  of  Adam,  but 
there  is  One  who  can  sustain  us. 

BARTON    BOUCHIER. 

How  precious,  then,  is  the  promise,  "  I  will  hear 
thee  in  the  day  of  trouble  "  !  It  is  the  prayer  of 
another  in  behalf  of  some  troubled  one,  and  yet 
it  implies  that  the  troubled  one  himself  had  also 
prayed. 

When  I  tread  life's  weary  path, 
Give  me  faith,  O  Lord,  to  see 
In  the  trials  that  surround  me 
Naught  but  Thee. 

When  I  reach  the  valley  dark 
Give  me  eyes,  O  Lord,  to  see 
In  that  cloud  of  awful  darkness 
Round  me  —  Thee. 

[331] 


He  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forlh 
much  fruit.  — S.  John  15  :  5. 

WHEN  we  see  the  multitude  of  Christ's  peo- 
ple, all  united  in  Him,  all  drawing  sap 
and  life  and  strength  and  fruitfulness  from  Him, 
what  can  more  beautifully  represent  Jesus  and  His 
people  than  the  rich  vine  and  the  fruitful  branches  ? 
The  best  evidence  of  the  Christian  life  is  "  more 
fruit."  That  is  the  meaning  of  the  pruning  and 
girdling,  as  well  as  the  milder  agencies  of  His 
grace  and  goodness.  Chastisements  are  occa- 
sional ;  God's  goodness  constant.  Bearing  fruit 
is  the  business  of  the  Christian  life.  And  however 
God  may  endure  barrenness  out  of  the  church,  yet 
He  will  never  endure  it  in  the  church.  To  be 
a  bramble  or  a  weed  where  we  should  be  fruitful 
branches,  will  the  Great  Husbandman  endure  this? 
Whatsoever  is  not  for  fruit  is  for  fire.  Ye  are  God's 
husbandry. 

Sower  divine, 
Sow  the  good  seed  in  me, 
Seed  for  eternity. 
'Tis  but  a  rough,  barren  soil, 
Yet  by  Thy  care  and  toil, 
Make  it  a  fruitful  field, 
An  hundred  fold  to  yield. 
Sower  divine, 

Sow  deep  this  heart  of  mine. 
[332] 


ISofoembet 


God,  who  giveth  richly  all  things  to  enjoy.  —  i  Timothy  6:17. 

GOOD,  grand,  old-fashioned  Thanksgiving  Day 
has  come.  .  .  .  Through  the  gates  of  this 
morning  it  came,  carrying  on  one  shoulder  a  sheaf 
of  wheat,  and  on  the  other  a  shock  of  corn. 
Children,  in  holiday  dress,  hold  up  their  hands  to 
bless  it,  and  old  age  goes  out  to  welcome  it,  asking 
that  it  come  in,  and  by  the  altars  of  God  rest 
awhile.  Come  in,  O  day  fragrant  with  a  thousand 
memories,  and  borne  down  under  the  weight  of 
innumerable  mercies,  and  tell  to  our  thankful  hearts 
how  great  is  the  goodness  of  God.  TALMAGE. 

We  should  remember  past  mercies  and  blessings. 
If  we  do,  our  past  will  shine  down  upon  us  like 
a  clear  sky  full  of  stars.  Such  remembering  will 
keep  the  gratitude  ever  fresh  in  our  hearts  and  the 
incense  ever  burning  on  the  altar.  Such  a  house 
of  memory  becomes  a  refuge  to  which  we  may  flee 
in  trouble.  When  sorrows  gather  thickly,  when 
trials  come,  when  the  sun  goes  down  and  every  star 
is  quenched  and  there  seems  nothing  left  to  our 
hearts  in  all  the  present,  then  the  memory  of  a  past 
full  of  goodness  becomes  a  holy  refuge  for  our  souls. 

For  summer's  bloom  and  autumn's  blight, 
For  bending  wheat  and  blasted  maize, 

For  health  and  sickness,  Lord  of  light, 
And  Lord  of  darkness,  hear  our  praise. 

HOLLAND. 

[333] 


IJofoember 


They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion,  which 
cannot  be  removed,  but  abideth  for  ever.  —  Psalm  125  :  I. 


THE  godly,  though  in  affliction,  are  in  a  state 
infinitely  better  than  the  prosperous  wicked. 
For  God  is  the  portion  of  the  Christian,  and  he 
that  hath  God  hath  all.  And  even  when  in  trouble, 
the  godly  are  blessed  of  their  sorrows  in  this  world, 
in  that  He  guides  them  by  His  counsel,  and  when 
He  takes  them  out  of  it  they  are  still  happy,  in 
that  He  receives  them  to  glory. 

He  who  has  God  needs  no  other  portion  either 
in  heaven  or  upon  earth.        JONATHAN  EDWARDS. 


He  fought  his  doubts  and  gather'd  strength, 
He  would  not  make  his  judgment  blind, 
He  faced  the  spectres  of  the  mind 
And  laid  them.  TENNYSON. 


I  will  not  doubt.     Well  anchored  in  this  faith 
Like  some  staunch  ship,  my  soul  braves  every  gale  ; 
So  strong  its  courage  that  it  will  not  quail 
To  breast  the  mighty,  unknown  sea  of  death. 
Oh  !  may  I  cry,  though  body  parts  with  spirit, 
"  I  do  not  doubt,"  so  listening  worlds  may  hear  it, 
With  my  last  breath. 

[334] 


Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every 
son  whom  he  receiveth.  —  Hebrews  12:6. 

f~*  REATEST  proof  of  love  is  this,  that  I  press 
VJT  near  the  inmost  heart  of  Him  I  love,  and  am 
permitted  with  Him  to  bear  some  of  His  own 
heart's  sorrow.  I  can  be  called  by  His  name  when 
I  drink  the  cup  with  Him.  "Bitter"  is  it?  Yes, 
bitter;  yet  not  so  bitter  as  to  be  denied  His 
presence.  Sweet  is  the  pain  itself  when  it  knits 
into  closer  sympathy  my  Saviour  and  me  !  Oh,  the 
unfolding,  the  transforming  power  of  love  ! 

My  share  !     No  deed  of  house  or  spreading  lands, 

As  I  had  dreamed  ;  no  measure 
Heaped  up  with  gold ;  my  Elder  Brother's  hands 

Had  never  held  such  treasure. 
Foxes  have  holes  and  birds  in  nests  are  fed  — 
My  Brother  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head. 

My  share  !     The  right  like  Him  to  know  all  pain 
Which  hearts  are  made  for  knowing ; 

The  right  to  find  in  loss  the  surest  gain ; 
To  reap  my  joy  from  sowing 

In  bitter  tears ;  the  right  with  Him  to  keep 

A  watch  by  day  and  night  with  those  who  weep. 

Now  through  my  tears  I  call  to  each,  "  Joint  heir 
With  Christ,  make  haste  to  ask  Him  for  thy  share  ! " 

HELEN   HUNT   JACKSON. 
[335] 


December 


I  will  give  you  rest.  —  S.  Matthew  II :  28. 

"yiv'HAT  is  it,  child  ?     Art  worn  and  weary  ? 
«  I  1  Ah,  so  was  I. 

Art  treading  o'er  a  pathway  dreary, 

Where  shadows  lie  ? 
The  thorns  spring  up  and  pierce  thy  tender  feet  ? 

I  felt  them  too. 
Art  grieving  for  the  friends  whose  love  was  sweet,  — 

Mine  were  untrue. 
Art  tempted  sorely  from  within  and  out  ? 

I  met  it,  child. 
Art  battling  'gainst  the  sweeping  tide  of  doubt 

'Mid  darkness  wild?  — 
I  know  it  all,  each  heart-throb  full  of  pain, 

Each  hour  of  gloom, 
The  blinding  sweep  of  sorrow's  heavy  rain  — 

The  open  tomb. 
Come  unto  Me  and  I  will  give  you  rest  — 

I  hear  Him  say  — 
Lean  thou  with  all  thy  care  upon  My  breast, 

The  better  way 
Of  blessedness  —  the  high  and  holy  life 

Is  all  for  thee. 
My  love  will  keep  thee  through  the  storm  and  strife, 

Rest  thou  in  Ale. 
[336] 


December 


God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my  portion  forever.  — 
1'salm  73  :  26. 

GOING  home  !  Gathering  there  with  soundless 
tread,  which  they  only  hear,  are  the  innu- 
merable hosts  of  those  whose  robes  have  been 
washed  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
They  are  those  over  whom  sin  hath  no  more  power, 
and  death  hath  no  more  dominion.  They  are  going 
through  many  doors,  but  they  are  all  going  home. 

'•  Ah  !  could  thy  grave  at  home,  at  Carthage,  be  !  "• 
Care  not  for  that,  ami  lay  me  where  I  fall  ! 
Everywhere  heard  will  be  the  judgment  call; 
But  at  God's  altar,  oh,  remember  me, 

Thus  Monica,  and  died  in  Italy. 
Yet  fervent  had  her  longing  been,  through  all 
Her  course,  for  home  at  last,  and  burial 
With  her  own  husband,  by  the  Libyan  sea. 

Had  been  !  but  at  the  end,  to  her  pure  soul 
All  tie  with  all  beside  seem'd  vain  and  cheap, 
And  union  before  God  the  only  care. 

Creeds  pass,  rites  change,  no  altar  standeth  whole, 
Yet  we  her  memory,  as  she  pray'd,  will  keep, 
Keep  by  this  :  Life  in  God,  and  union  there  ! 

MATTHEW    ARNOLD. 


[337] 


©ecember 


Though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  mountains, 
and  have  not  love,  I  am  nothing.  —  I  Corinthians  13:  12. 

BLESSED  is  the  man  who  has  the  gift  of  making 
friends  ;  for  it  is  one  of  God's  best  gifts.     It 
involves  many  things,  but  above  all,  the  power  of 
going  out  of  one's  self,  and  seeing  and  appreciating 
whatever  is  noble  and  loving  in  another. 

THOMAS  HUGHES. 

Rich  in  Love. 

And  sweet  humanity,  he  was,  himself, 
To  the  degree  that  he  desired,  beloved. 

Love  is  its  own  perennial  fount  of  strength.  The 
strength  of  affection  is  a  proof,  not  of  the  object, 
but  of  the  largeness  of  the  soul  which  loves.  .  .  . 
Love  descends,  not  ascends.  F.  w.  ROBERTSON. 

He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best, 

All  things  both  great  and  small  ; 

For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 

He  made  and  loveth  all.  COLERIDGE. 

To  love  is  better  than  to  be  great,  it  is  better 
than  to  be  refined,  it  is  better  than  to  be  wise. 
Love  takes  precedence  of  all  prophecy,  of  every 
kind  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  gift  of  tongues  ;  love 
is  higher  than  hope  or  faith,  and  is  the  very  royalty 
of  God. 

[338] 


December 

jfourtl)  S>a£ 

O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith. —  S.  Matthew  15  :  28. 

"  \  T  7OMAN,  how  great  is  thy  faith  !  I  have  not 
V  V  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel,"  said, 
wonderingly,  the  highest  authority  whose  lips  ever 
found  utterance  on  this  earth,  in  reference  to  woman. 
And  it  is  true  :  so  marvellous  and  beautiful  a  thing 
as  the  faith  of  a  woman  who  loves,  nowhere  else 
exists.  Ordinarily,  this  wonder-working  power  is 
neither  seen  nor  felt,  and  its  existence  is  scarcely 
noted ;  but  let  a  sudden  emergency  come,  and  it 
springs,  full  grown,  and  like  a  guardian  spirit,  to 
the  side  of  the  stricken  one,  and  its  confident  whis- 
per sustains  amid  the  din  of  a  hundred  accusing 

Voices.  JENNIE  JUNE. 

Fain  would  I  hold  my  lamp  of  life  aloft 

Like  yonder  tower  built  high  above  the  reef; 

Steadfast,  though  tempests  rave  or  winds  blow  soft, 
Clear,  though  the  sky  dissolve  in  tears  of  grief. 

For  darkness  passes  ;  storms  shall  not  abide. 

A  little  patience  and  the  fog  is  past. 
After  the  sorrow  of  the  ebbing  tide 

The  singing  flood  returns  in  joy  at  last. 

The  night  is  long  and  pain  weighs  heavily ; 

But  God  will  hold  His  world  above  despair. 
Look  to  the  east,  where  up  the  lucid  sky 

The  morning  climbs  !     The  day  shall  yet  be  fair. 

CELIA  THAXTER. 

[339] 


/  am  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth.  —  Joshua  23 :  14. 
My  days  are  swifter  than  a  weaver's  shuttle.  —  Job  7 :  6. 
The  house  appointed  for  all  the  living.  —  Job  30 :  23. 

AS  in  our  advance  we  leave  earthly  things  behind 
us,  may  all  the  sweet. influences  of  the  other 
world  come  forth  to  meet  us ;  and  if  we  are  coming 
upon  the  other  world  in  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
may  we  have  foretastes  and  sweet-wafted  premoni- 
tions to  cheer  us  in  the  dark  passage. 

Up  Hill. 

Does  the  road  wind  up  hill  all  the  way? 

Yes,  to  the  very  end. 
Will  the  day's  journey  take  the  whole  day  long? 

From  morn  to  night,  my  friend. 

But  is  there  for  the  night  a  resting-place? 

A  roof  for  when  the  slow  dark  hours  begin  ? 
May  not  the  darkness  hide  it  from  my  face  ? 

You  cannot  miss  that  inn. 

Shall  I  meet  other  wayfarers  at  night  ? 

Those  who  have  gone  before. 
Then  must  I  knock  or  call  when  just  in  sight  ? 

They  will  not  keep  you  standing  at  the  door. 

Shall  I  find  comfort,  travel-sore  and  weak? 

Of  labor  you  shall  find  the  sum. 
Will  there  be  beds  for  me  and  all  who  seek  ? 

Yes,  beds  for  all  who  come. 

CHRISTINA  ROSSETTI. 
[340J 


December 


And  Abraham  called  the  name  of  that  place  Jehovah-jireh.  — 
Genesis  22  :  14. 

TEHOVAH-JIREH  means  "The  Lord  will  pro- 
J   vide." 

Write  deep  in  your  heart  this  day  this  word  of 
sublime  confidence,  Jehovah-jireh.  It  tells  you 
that  you  can  trust  God  always,  that  no  promise  of 
His  ever  fails,  that  He  doeth  all  things  well,  that 
out  of  all  seeming  loss  and  destruction  of  human 
hopes  He  brings  blessing.  You  have  not  passed 
this  way  heretofore.  There  will  be  joys  and  sor- 
rows, failures  and  successes.  You  cannot  forecast 
individual  experiences.  You  cannot  see  a  step 
before  your  feet.  Yet  Jehovah-jireh  calls  you  to 
enter  the  new  year  with  calm  trust.  MILLER. 

I  care  not  what  the  approaching  year  brings,  if 
it  results  only  in  good.  I  care  not  though  it  may 
be  undriven  like  a  chariot  whose  driver  has  been 
thrown  to  the  ground,  if  God  only  sits  and  holds 
the  coursers  of  Time.  If  God  is  in  the  chariot,  I 
care  not  what  else  is  in  it  or  around  it.  If  God 
will  take  care  of  my  thoughts  and  feelings  ;  if  He 
will  mark  out  my  ways  and  lead  me  in  them  ;  if 
He  will  appoint  my  burdens  ;  if  He  will  give  to  my 
faith  the  vision  of  eternal  life  ;  if  He  will  touch  and 
refine  my  affections  ;  if  He  will  direct  my  aspira- 
tions toward  heavenly  estate,  I  shall  be  content,  and 
shall  rejoice  in  whatever  scenes  I  may  be  called  to 
pass  through.  PHILLIPS  BROOKS. 

[341] 


J^ecember 


This  God  is  our  Cod  for  ever  and  ever:  he  will  be  our  guide 
even  unto  death.  —  Psalm  48  :  14. 

WE  have  often  to  travel  solitary  ways.  Some 
of  us  have  perplexed  paths  to  tread. 
Some  of  us  have  sad  memories  of  times  when  we 
journeyed  in  company  with  those  who  will  never 
share  our  tent  or  counsel  or  steps  any  more,  and, 
as  we  sit  lonely  by  our  watch-fire  in  the  wilderness, 
we  have  aching  hearts  and  silent  nights.  Some  of 
us  may  be  as  yet  rich  in  companions  and  helpers, 
whose  words  are  wisdom,  whose  wishes  are  love  to 
us,  and  may  tremble  to  think  that  after  a  while 
they  or  we  shall  have  to  tramp  on  by  ourselves. 
There  is  a  Presence  which  never  departs,  which 
moves  before  us  as  we  journey,  and  hovers  over  us 
as  a  shield  when  we  rest  ;  a  cloud  to  veil  the  sun 
that  it  smite  us  not  by  day,  and  a  pillar  of  flame 
as  the  night  falls,  being  ever  brightest  when  we 
need  it  most,  and  burning  clearest  of  all  in  the 
valley  at  the  end,  where  its  guidance  will  only 
cease,  because  then  "the  Lamb  that  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne  will  lead  them." 

ALEXANDER   McLAREN. 

The  soul  that  walks  with  God  upon  the  heights 

Hath  secrets  voiceless  to  the  alien  air  ; 

To  him  who  is  of  God,  the  things  of  God  are  clear. 


[342] 


December 


Whoso  trmteth  in  the  Lord,  happy  is  he.  —  Proverbs  16  :  20. 

TIRED  fathers,  weary  mothers,  when  is  your 
happy  day  coming?  Long  since  you  ex- 
pected it  to  dawn.  It  is  not  here  yet,  nor  will  it 
ever  be  so  long  as  you  do  not  determine  that  it 
shall  be  to-day.  This  failure  to  take  comfort  as 
you  pass  along  life's  pathway,  but  ever  looking 
forward  for  all  enjoyment  of  good,  is  throwing 
away  the  real  sweets  of  life.  You  may  as  well 
attempt  to  store  up  summer  sunshine  to  warm  in 
winter,  or  bottle  moonshine  for  cloudy  nights. 
The  real  and  only  true  way  is  to  find  in  the  pres- 
ent all  the  good  God  gives  us.  Our  whole  lives 
may  be  filled  with  joy  if  we  are  only  willing  to 
learn  that  in  all  good  work  there  is  profit,  in  all 
sorrow  there  are  some  rays  of  sunshine,  and  in 
all  care  some  compensation.  Make  the  most  of 
to-day.  BIBLE  STUDIES. 

If  thou  art  blest, 

Then  let  the  sunshine  of  thy  gladness  rest 
On  the  dark  edges  of  each  cloud  that  lies 
Black  in  thy  brothers'  skies. 

If  thou  art  sad 
Still  be  thou  in  thy  brothers'  gladness  glad. 

Gold  hath  its  roses,  blue  skies  a  cloud, 
Fortune  a  fall,  and  hope  a  shroud  ; 
But  Trust  upon  its  mountain  height, 
Reflects  a  ray  of  heaven's  own  light. 
[343] 


Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ?  —  S.  Matthew  20 :  6. 

A  LAZY  Christian  shall  always  want  four  things, 
viz. :  Comfort,  content,  confidence,  and  assur- 
ance. God  hath  made  a  separation  between  joy 
and  idleness,  between  assurance  and  laziness,  and 
therefore  it  is  impossible  for  thee  to  bring  these 
together.  T.  BROOKS. 

Jacob  saw  the  angels,  some  ascending,  others 
descending,  but  none  standing  still.  God  hath 
made  Behemoth  to  play  in  the  water,  not  so  men ; 
they  must  be  doing,  that  will  keep  with  God. 

JOHN  TRAPP. 

He  who  God's  will  has  borne  and  done, 
And  his  own  restless  longings  stilled ; 

What  else  he  does,  or  has  foregone, 
His  mission  he  has  well  fulfilled. 

'FROM   THE   GERMAN. 

Cheered  by  the  presence  of  God,  I  will  do  at 
each  moment,  without  anxiety,  according  to  the 
strength  which  He  shall  give  me,  the  work  that  His 
providence  assigns  me.  I  will  leave  the  rest  with- 
out concern  ;  it  is  not  my  affair.  I  ought  to  con- 
sider the  duty  to  which  I  am  called  each  day,  as 
the  work  that  God  has  given  me  to  do,  and  to 
apply  myself  to  it  in  a  manner  worthy  of  His  glory, 
that  is  to  say,  with  exactness  and  in  peace. 

FENELON. 

[344] 


And  there  shall  be  no  night  there  ;  and  they  need  no  candle, 
neither  light  of  the  sun  ;  for  the  Lord  giveth  them  light.  — 
Revelation  22 :  5. 


IT  is  winter  here  and  we  are  frost-bitten  or  ice- 
clad.  It  will  be  summer  there,  and  we  shall 
be  in  fragrant  blossom  and  glorious  leaf.  To  us 
here  the  glory  of  God  shines  as  the  sun  shines  in  a 
cloudy  day.  Now  it  is  hidden  altogether ;  now  a 
procession  of  clouds  pass  over  it,  and  there  comes 
through  them  a  fitful,  checkered  light ;  and  now  it 
is  disclosed  to  full  view.  But  there  is  a  place 
where  the  glory  of  God  shall  be  an  uninterrupted 
stream,  which  shall  be  so  clear,  so  apparent,  that 
we  shall  live  in  the  presence  of  it.  ...  We  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is,  for  there  is  no  night  there. 

BEECHER. 


Oh,  where  the  living  waters  flow, 

Along  that  radiant  shore, 
My  soul,  a  wanderer  here,  shall  know 

The  exile  thirst  no  more. 
And,  borne  on  eagle's  wings  afar, 

Free  thought  shall  claim  its  dower, 
From  every  realm,  from  every  star, 

Of  glory  and  of  power. 

•  MRS.  F.  D.  HEMANS. 

[345] 


December 

(OHebentlj  2Da^ 

Cast  down  but  not  destroyed.  —  2  Corinthians  4 :  9. 

THE  cloud  of  trial  while  it  drops,  Christian,  is 
rolling  over  thy  head,  and  then  comes  fair 
weather  with  eternal  sunshine  of  glory.     "  Canst 
thou  not  watch  with  Christ  one  hour?  " 

GURNALL. 

Think  how  completely  all  the  griefs  of  this 
mortal  life  will  be  compensated  by  one  age,  of  the 
felicities  beyond  the  grave,  and  then  think  that  one 
age  multiplied  by  ten  thousand  times  is  not  so 
much  to  eternity  as  one  grain  of  sand  to  the  whole 
material  universe.  JOHN  FOSTER. 

Count  each  affliction,  whether  light  or  grave, 
God's  messenger  sent  down  to  thee.     Do  thou 
With  courtesy  receive  him  ;  rise  and  bow 

And,  ere  his  shadow  pass  thy  threshold,  crave 

Permission  for  his  heavenly  feet  to  lave  ; 
Then  lay  before  Him  all  thou  hast ;  allow 
No  cloud  of  passion  to  usurp  thy  brow 

Or  mar  thy  hospitality,  no  wave 

Of  mortal  tumult  to  obliterate 

The  soul's  marmoreal  calmness  :  grief  should  be 

Like  joy,  —  majestic,  equable,  sedate  ; 

Confirming,  cleansing,  raising,  making  free  ; 

Strong  to  consume  small  troubles  ;  to  commend 

Great  thoughts,  grave  thoughts,  thoughts  lasting  to 
the  end.  AUBREY  DE  VERB. 


December 


Lord  make  me  to  know  mine  end  and  the  measure  of  my 
days,  what  it  is  ;  that  I  may  knoiu  how  frail  I  am,  —  Psalm 
39  =  4- 

THEY  are  slipping  away  —  these  sweet,  swift 
years, 

Like  a  leaf  on  the  current  cast  ; 
With  never  a  break  in  the  current  flow, 
We  watch  them  as  one  by  one  they  go 

Into  the  beautiful  past. 
As  silent  and  swift  as  a  weaver's  thread, 

Or  an  arrow's  flying  gleam  ; 
As  soft  as  the  languorous  breezes  bid, 
That  lift  the  willow's  long  golden  lid, 

And  ripple  the  glassy  stream. 
As  light  as  the  breath  of  the  thistle-down, 

As  fond  as  a  lover's  dream  ; 
As  pure  as  the  flush  in  the  sea-shell's  throat, 
As  sweet  as  the  wood-bird's  wooing  note, 

So  tender  and  sweet  they  seem. 
One  after  another  we  see  them  pass, 

Down  the  dim-lighted  stair  ; 
We  hear  the  sound  of  their  steady  tread 
In  the  steps  of  the  centuries  long  since  dead, 

As  beautiful  and  as  fair. 
There  are  only  a  few  years  left  ;  ah,  let 

No  envious  taunts  be  heard  ; 
Make  life's  fair  pattern  of  rare  design, 
And  fill  up  the  measure  with  love's  sweet  wine, 

But  never  an  angry  word. 
t347] 


December 


N' 


Fear  not,  little  flock  :  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to 
give  you  the  Kingdom,  — S.  Luke  12 :  32. 

'EW  YEAR  met  me  somewhat  sad  : 

Old  Year  leaves  me  tired. 
Stripped  of  favorite  things  I  had, 

Balked  of  much  desired  : 
Yet  further  on  my  road  to-day, 
God  willing,  further  on  my  way. 

New  Year  coming  on  apace, 

What  have  you  to  give  me  ? 
Bring  you  scathe,  or  bring  you  grace, 

Face  me  with  an  honest  face  : 
You  shall  not  deceive  me  : 
Be  it  good  or  ill,  be  it  what  you  will, 
It  needs  shall  help  me  on  my  road, 
My  rugged  way  to  heaven,  please  God  ! 

CHRISTINA    ROSSETTI. 

All  of  our  courage  will  be  in  vain  and  all  our 
good  resolutions  will  sleep  as  sentinels  over-wearied 
at  their  post  if  Thou,  O  God,  art  not  vigilant  for  us 
during  the  year  that  is  dawning  before  us.  May 
we  have  clearer  and  truer  conceptions  of  duty  with 
each  successive  year  until  we  are  lifted  up  into  the 
higher  life.  Amen.  BEECHER. 

Eternity  has  no  gray  hairs.  Here  the  flowers  fade, 
the  heart  withers,  man  grows  old  and  dies,  the  world 
lies  down  in  a  sepulchre  of  ages.  But  time  writes 
no  wrinkles  on  the  brow  of  eternity. 

[348] 


December 

jfourteentt)  s>ap 

The  former  things  are  passed  away.  —  Revelation  21:4. 

GOD  sometimes  gives  to  man  a  guileless  and 
holy  second  childhood,  in  which  the  soul 
becomes  childlike,  not  childish,  and  the  faculties, 
in  full  fruit  and  ripeness,  are  mellow  without  sign 
of  decay.  This  is  that  sought-for  land  of  Beulah, 
where  they  who  have  travelled  manfully  the  Chris- 
tian way  abide  awhile,  to  show  the  world  a  perfect 
manhood.  Life,  with  its  battles  and  its  sorrows, 
lies  far  behind  them  ;  the  soul  has  thrown  off  its 
armor,  and  sits  in  an  evening  undress  of  calm  and 
holy  leisure.  Thrice  blessed  the  family  or  neigh- 
borhood that  numbers  among  it  one  of  those  not 
yet  ascended  saints. 

Shall  I  complain  because  the  feast  is  o'er, 

And  all  the  banquet  lights  have  ceased  to  shine  ? 

For  joy  that  was  and  is  no  longer  mine ; 
For  love  that  came  and  went,  and  comes  no  more ; 
For  hopes  and  dreams  that  left  my  open  door ; 

Shall  I,  who  hold  the  past  in  fee,  repine  ? 

Nay  !    there  are  those  who  never  quaffed   life's 

wine  — 
That  were  the  unblest  fate  one  might  deplore. 

LOUISE  CHANDLER  MOULTON. 

We  are  what  the  past  has  made  us.     The  results 
of  the  past  are  ourselves.  ROBERTSON. 

[349] 


December 

jfifteenti) 


These  light  afflictions  are  but  for  a  moment.  —  2  Corinthians 
4:  17. 

r  I  "HERE  is  no  cup  of  joy  so  sweet  but  that  if 
X  we  hold  it  attently  to  our  spirit's  taste  we 
shall  detect  in  it  the  salt-flavor  of  tears.  There  is 
no  laughter  so  silvery  clear  but  that  some  quality  in 
it  shall  suggest  the  cry  of  pain  ;  there  are  no  eyes 
so  bright  with  joy  but  that  some  gleam  from  their 
depths  shall  suggest  the  fountain  of  tears.  Tragedy 
haunts  the  footsteps  of  happiness  as  night  haunts 
the  footsteps  of  day,  and  death  is  the  dim  shadow 
that  glides  inseparably  and  silently  at  the  heels  of 
all  life.  .  .  . 

What  philosophy  shall  we  bring  to  our  support 
in  the  presence  of  all  this?  What  estimate  shall 
we  place  upon  life  with  all  this  sorrow  in  it?  ... 
What  is  the  answer  of  faith?  Job  rendered  it 
thousands  of  years  ago,  "Though  He  slay  me,  yet 
will  I  trust  in  Him."  j.  T.  MCFARLAND. 

To  every  one  on  earth 
God  gives  a  burden  to  be  carried  down 
The  road  that  leads  between  the  cross  and  crown  ; 

No  lot  is  wholly  free, 

He  giveth  one  to  thee. 

Take  thou  thy  burden  then 
Into  thy  hands,  and  lay  it  at  His  feet, 
And  whether  it  be  sorrow  or  defeat, 

Or  pain,  or  sin,  or  care, 

Oh,  leave  it  calmly  there.    MARIANNE  FARNINGHAM. 
[350] 


N 


Nevertheless,  afterward.  —  Hebrews  12:  2. 

OW  the  pruning,  sharp,  unsparing  ; 

Scattered  blossom,  bleeding  shoot  ! 
Afterward,  the  plenteous  bearing, 
Of  the  Master's  pleasant  fruit. 

Now  the  spirit  conflict-riven, 
Wounded  heart,  unequal  strife  ; 

Afterward  the  triumph  given 
And  the  victor's  crown  of  life. 

HAVERGAL. 

To  maintain  a  steady  and  unbroken  mind,  amidst 
all  the  shocks  of  adversity,  forms  the  highest  honor 
of  man.  Afflictions  supported  by  patience  and  sur- 
mounted by  fortitude,  give  the  last  finishing  stroke 
to  the  heroic  and  the  virtuous  character.  Thus  the 
vale  of  tears  becomes  the  theatre  of  human  glory  ; 
that  dark  cloud  presents  all  the  beauties  in  the 
bow  of  virtue.  Moral  grandeur,  like  the  sun,  is 
brighter  in  the  day  of  the  storm,  and  never  is  so  truly 
sublime  as  when  struggling  through  the  darkness  of 
an  eclipse. 

Patience  is  the  guardian  of  faith,  the  preserver  of 
peace,  the  cherisher  of  love,  the  teacher  of  humility. 
Patience  governs  the  flesh,  strengthens  the  spirit, 
sweetens  the  temper,  stifles  anger,  extinguishes 
envy,  subdues  pride  ;  she  bridles  the  tongue,  re- 
strains the  hand,  tramples  upon  temptations,  en- 
dures persecutions.  ROYAL  PATH  OF  LIFE. 

[351] 


December 


A  man  of  sorrows.  —  Isaiah  13:3. 

IF  Jesus  had  walked  in  paths  that  were  without 
stone  or  thorn,  and  with  eyes  that  were  never 
tear-stained  and  a  heart  that  was  never  grief-rent, 
He  might  be  to  us  a  vision  of  radiant  beauty,  but 
we  could  never  understand  Him  nor  feel  that  He 
understood  us.  But  the  wound  in  the  hand  which 
He  extends  to  us,  and  the  sorrow  underlying  the 
smile  of  the  face  which  He  turns  toward  us,  give 
us  mutual  understanding.  Now  we  can  believe 
that  He  understands  our  tears,  and  our  heartaches, 
and  our  agonies.  It  is  the  deep-laid  cable  of 
sorrow  which  runs  under  the  great  salt-sea  of  tears, 
and  along  which  throb  flashes  of  pain,  that  binds 
together  the  continents  of  life.  .  .  . 

He  trod  the  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  God 
alone.  Gathering  about  Him  the  folds  of  sorrow 
as  heavy  and  sombre  as  the  gloom  with  which  the 
starless  midnight  mantles  the  hills,  bearing  the  sins 
of  the  world  in  His  martyr-heart,  He  went  down 
into  the  valley  and  shadow  of  death,  that  the  gates 
of  Paradise  might  be  opened  to  repentant  sinners. 
Behold  the  Man  —  "a  Man  of  sorrows,  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief  !  "  j.  T.  MCFARLAND. 

O  Christ,  what  burdens  bowed  Thy  heart, 

What  sins  were  laid  on  Thee  ! 
A  victim  led,  Thy  blood  was  shed  — 

That  blood  avails  for  me. 
[352] 


<H;tgl)teentl) 

The  hope  of  the  righteous  shall  be  gladness.  —  Proverbs  10 :  28. 

WE  may  be  all  wrong  in  our  thoughts  of  the 
special  form  in  which  our  blessings  will 
come  ;  we  can  never  be  wrong  about  the  blessing. 
It  may  be  like  the  mirage,  shifting  from  horizon  to 
horizon  as  we  plod  wearily  along,  but  the  soul  is 
bound  to  find  at  last  the  resting-place  and  the  spring. 
A  true  hope  we  can  touch  somehow  through  all 
the  lights  and  shadows  of  life.  It  is  a  prophecy 
fulfilled  in  part ;  God's  earnest-money  paid  into 
our  hand  that  He  will  be  ready  with  the  whole 
when  we  are  ready  for  it ;  the  sunlight  on  the  hill- 
top when  the  valley  is  as  dark  as  death ;  the  spirit 
touching  us  all  through  our  pilgrimage,  and  then 
when  we  know  that  the  end  is  near,  taking  us  on 
its  wings  and  soaring  away  into  the  blessed  life. 

ROYAL   PATH   OF   LIFE. 

Hope  not  so  fearfully, 

Hope  and  be  strong, 
Go  thy  way  cheerfully, 

Though  it  be  long. 

BELLE    G.  McAULEY. 

The  sorrows,  and  hungering  of  the  world  change 
faces  as  they  change  hearts  ;  but  with  the  righteous 
man  the  troubled  clouds  pass  off  and  leave  heaven's 
surface  clear.  DICKENS. 

1353] 


December 


The  Lord  preserveth  the  faithful.  —  Psalm  30  :  23. 

NEARLY  one  hundred  years  ago,  there  was 
a  day  of  remarkable  gloom  and  darkness, 
still  known  as  the  Dark  Day  —  a  day  when  the 
light  of  the  sun  was  slowly  extinguished  as  if  by 
an  eclipse.  The  legislature  of  Connecticut  was  in 
session,  and  as  the  members  saw  the  unexpected 
and  unaccountable  darkness  coming  on,  they  shared 
in  the  general  awe  and  terror.  It  was  supposed  by 
many  the  last  day  —  the  Day  of  Judgment  —  had 
come.  Some  one,  in  the  consternation  of  the 
hour,  moved  an  adjournment.  Then  there  arose 
an  old  Puritan  legislator,  Davenport  Stanford,  who 
said  that  if  the  last  day  had  come  he  desired  to 
be  found  at  his  post  of  duty,  and  therefore  moved 
that  candles  be  brought  so  that  the  House  could 
proceed  with  its  business.  So,  my  son,  when  in 
the  conflict  of  life  the  cloud  and  the  darkness 
come,  stand  unflinchingly  by  your  post  ;  remain 
faithful  to  the  discharge  of  your  duty. 

GENERAL  ROBERT  E.  LEE. 

To  do  the  thing  we  deem 

Enjoined  by  duty  ; 
To  walk  in  faith  nor  dream 
Of  questioning  God's  scheme 

Of  truth  and  beauty. 

To  those  who  long  God's  work  to  do, 
Ways  are  not  scarce  nor  chances  few, 
t354] 


December 

(Etoentietl)  Dap 

Bearing  precious  seed.  —  Psalm  1 26 :  6. 

IF  in  the  soul's  still  garden-place 
A  seed  God  sows  — 
A  little -seed,  it  soon  will  grow, 
And  far  and  near  all  men  will  know, 
For  heavenly  lands  He  bids  it  blow, 
The  seed  God  sows.          H.  c.  BUNNER. 

Make  life  a  garden-spot  with  a  hedge  of  roses 
round  your  little  place  of  peace.  .  .  .  Plant  within 
all  precious  seeds  of  love  and  kindness.  So  will 
the  rough  ground  be  made  smooth  for  whoever 
passes  that  way.  You  would  think  it  a  pleasant 
magic  if  you  could  bid  the  dew  fall  in  the  drought, 
and  say  to  the  south  wind,  in  time  of  frost,  "  Come 
thou  south  wind  and  breathe  upon  my  garden,  that 
the  spices  of  it  may  flow  out !  "  And  is  there  not 
a  greater  thing  than  all  this? 

One  is  waiting  at  the  gate  of  your  soul's  garden 
to  take  your  hand,  and  go  down  to  see  whether  the 
vine  has  flourished  and  the  pomegranate  budded. 

So  here  we  set  a  little  seed 

And  trust  its  tender  boughs  to  Time  ; 

To  grow  to  touch  the  stars  sublime  ; 

For  thus  will  grow  each  small,  good  seed. 

Set  deep,  where  lilies  ever  nod, 
Walled  round  by  everlasting  snows, 
To  grow  as  some  great  strong  soul  grows 

When  growing  upward  to  its  God. 
[355] 


If  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from   me,  —  S.    Matthew 
27 :  29. 

HOW  oft,  O  Father,  do  we  bring  to  Thee 
The  prayer  His  lips  made  sacred  :  "  Not 

this  cup." 
My  God,  my  God  !  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ? 

And  must  I  drink  this  bitter  portion  up? 
And  then,  when  grief  goes  by  and  peace  is  won  : 
Come  grateful  praises  that  Thy  will  is  done. 

LUCY  M.  BLINN. 

Christians  are  sometimes  perplexed  and  discour- 
aged because  of  their  trials.  They  know  not  what 
God  is  doing  with  them.  T*hey  fear  that  He  is 
angry  with  them.  Rut  they  are  His  workmanship. 
He  is  preparing  them  for  their  destination  in  the 
temple  of  His  grace.  These  trials  are  applied  to 
qualify  and  advance  them.  They  will  only  perfect 
that  which  concerneth  them.  Howard  was  taken 
by  the  enemy  and  confined  in  prison.  There  he 
learned  the  heart  of  the  captive,  and  his  experience 
originating  in  his  suffering,  excited  and  directed  his 
thoughts  and  led  him  into  all  his  extraordinary 
course  of  usefulness  and  fame.  "  It  is  good  for 
me,"  says  David,  " that  I  have  been  afflicted."  "I 
know,"  says  Paul,  "  that  this  shall  turn  to  my  salva- 
tion." "  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a 
moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory."  WILLIAM  JAY. 

[356] 


December 


Try  him  every  moment.  —  Job  7  :  18. 

r  I  AO  realize  the  importance  of  moments,  let  us 
_L  hear  what  God  says  about  them  :  "In  a 
moment  shall  they  die,"  "We  shall  all  be  changed 
in  a  moment."  Eternal  issues  may  hang  upon  any 
one  of  them,  but  it  has  come  and  gone  before  we 
can  even  think  about  it.  Nothing  seems  less  within 
the  possibility  of  our  own  keeping,  yet  nothing  is 
more  inclusive  of  all  other  keeping. 

Are  they  not  the  tiny  joints  in  the  harness  through 
which  the  darts  of  temptation  pierce  us  ?  Only  give 
us  time,  we  think,  and  we  should  not  be  overcome. 
Only  give  us  time,  and  we  could  pray  and  resist, 
and  the  devil  would  flee  from  us  !  But  he  comes  all 
in  a  moment  ;  and  in  a  moment  —  an  unguarded, 
unkept  one  —  we  utter  the  hasty  or  exaggerated 
word,  or  think  the  un-Christ-like  thought,  or  feel 
the  un-Christ-like  impatience  or  resentment.  So 
let  us  commit  these  slippery  moments  to  God,  and 
say,  "  Lord,  keep  them  for  me  !  I  cannot  keep  them 
for  Thee."  HAVERGAL. 

Catch  the  flying  moments 

As  they  come  and  go, 
Hold  them  till  the  blessing 

In  thy  heart  shall  grow  ; 
Lessons  they  will  teach  thee, 

Let  them  have  their  will, 
Let  them  leave  their  message 

And  their  work  fulfil.  M.  c.  o. 

[357] 


December 


for  we  have  not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted 
like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.  —  Hebrews  4:15. 

TO  be  a  savior,  it  is  not  necessary  that  you 
should  commit  the  same  crime  as  he  whom 
you  seek  to  rescue,  but  you  must  show  that  you 
have  felt  the  same  fierce  temptation,  and  have 
barely  escaped,  so  that  you  suffer  with  the  crim- 
inal, almost  as  if  you  yourself  were  the  reprobate. 
That  brings  you  near,  and  gives  you  grasp,  and 
clasp,  and  uplifting  and  transforming  power.  All 
these  hair-breadth  escapes  from  moral  disaster, 
which  you  and  I  have  hidden  among  the  secrets  that 
no  other  mortal  knows  about,  are  our  best  equipment 
for  rescuing  the  perishing.  We  need  not  make  spe- 
cific confessions,  but  we  must  suggest  enough,  so 
that  he  whom  we  approach  shall,  with  a  start  of  sur- 
prise, say,  "  Why,  this  man  whom  the  world  calls  im- 
maculate has  just  missed  being  what  I  am  ;  he 
suffers  with  me  ;  he  cannot  bear  to  have  me  lost  ; 
I  will  not  be  lost."  This  is  the  secret  of  moral 
leadership.  The  leader  must  have  his  baptism  of 
grief  and  of  tears.  It  is  the  suffering  deeply  cut 
into  the  heroic  face  that  makes  you  always  turn 
for  one  look  more  at  Lincoln's  picture  in  history, 
and  Dante's  picture  in  poetry,  while  in  tragedy  the 
central  figure  is  that  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  whose 
lifting  up  on  Gethsemane  is  drawing  the  world  that 

Way.  E.  A.  TANNER. 

f3S8] 


/  know  whom  I  have  believed.  —  2  Timothy  1 :  12. 

YOU  are  certain  to  be  assailed  with  troubles. 
No  hurricane  can  strike  a  full-rigged  ship 
more  suddenly  than  storms  of  adversity  may  burst 
upon  you.  But  if  Jesus  Christ  is  in  your  soul,  you 
cannot  suffer  wreck.  The  anchor  sure  and  stead- 
fast will  hold  you.  People  do  not  see  what  holds 
a  vessel  when  the  gale  is  sending  the  billows  over 
her  bows.  The  anchor  is  invisible,  as  it  lies  full 
many  a  fathom  deep  on  the  solid  ground  beneath 
the  waves.  So  when  we  see  a  good  man  beaten 
upon  with  heavy  adversities  and  yet  preserving 
a  cheerful  spirit,  we  do  not  discover  the  secret  of 
his  serenity.  "  But  the  eye  of  God  sees  that  there 
is  an  interior  life  hid  with  Christ  in  that  soul  which 
no  storm  can  touch." 

There  is  many  a  bereavement,  many  a  trouble 
that  may  strip  a  man  of  canvas  or  cordage,  but 
never  touch  the  solid  strength  of  his  godly  char- 
acter. I  have  seen  just  such  fast-anchored  Chris- 
tians. THEODORE  L.  CUYLER. 


Oh,  small  shall  seem  all  sacrifice 

And  pain  and  loss, 

When  God  shall  wipe  the  weeping  eyes, 
For  suffering  give  the  victor's  prize, 

The  crown  for  cross  !  WHITTIER. 

[359] 


December 


Unto  you  is  born  (his  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour, 
which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  —  S.  Luke  2  :  2. 

CHRISTIANS,  stand  at  Bethlehem  and  open 
every  door  and  window  of  your  being  Christ- 
ward.  Look  back.  Look  forward.  Magnify  Beth- 
lehem. Recount  to  your  souls  the  things  for  which 
it  stands.  It  stands  for  the  "  fulness  of  time."  It 
stands  for  the  fulfilment  of  glorious  prediction. 
It  stands  for  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  God  Him- 
self into  our  nature.  It  stands  for  the  glorious 
past  and  for  the  more  glorious  future. 

Let  the  Star  shine.  Let  the  Magi  give  gifts. 
Let  the  shepherds  worship.  Let  the  angel-faces 
flash  out  from  the  great  dome  overhead.  Let  the 
church-bells  chime.  Let  the  sacred  harps  and 
organs  respond  to  the  master-hand  that  sweeps 
their  strings  and  flies  over  the  keys,  and  let  them 
turn  the  common  air  into  praise.  Let  Christmas 
carols  roll  over  this  wide  earth  and  echo  among 
the  stars.  Let  everything  in  heaven  and  earth 
shout  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  ;  blessed  is 
He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ;  Hosanna 
in  the  highest."  DAVID  GREGG. 

O  Holy  Child  of  Bethlehem  ! 

Descend  to  us,  we  pray; 
Cast  out  our  sin  and  enter  in, 

Be  born  in  us  to-day. 

PHILLIPS    BROOKS. 

[360] 


December 


Thou  shalt  remember  all  the  rvay  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
led  thee.  —  Deuteronomy  8  :  2. 

WE  thank  Thee,  O  God,  for  the  ministration 
of  the  year  that  is  just  closing.  Our 
record  is  indeed  sadly  blotted,  and  if  we  look  to  the 
year  only  as  we  have  marked  it,  it  is  not  a  year  to 
be  remembered  nor  sighed  after  as  something  to 
be  brought  back  again  ;  but  when  we  look  at  Thy 
way  with  us,  it  is  a  year  robed  in  beauty  —  a  year 
of  divine  love,  of  pardoning  mercy,  of  gracious 
guidance.  Thou  hast  held  us  up  and  carried  us 
even  as  a  mother  carries  her  little  child.  And  now 
we  beseech  Thee  to  guide  us  through  the  year 
upon  which  we  are  now  entering.  We  are  strangers 
to  it  ;  we  do  not  know  one  single  path  ;  we  are 
pilgrims,  and  wander  up  and  down  our  several 
ways,  but  we  commend  ourselves  to  Thee  to  whom 
the  darkness  and  the  light  are  alike,  and  who  seest 
the  end  from  the  beginning.  BEECHER. 

Retrospect. 
He  guided  by  paths  that  I  could  not  see, 

By  ways  that  I  have  not  known  ; 
The  crooked  was  straight  and  the  rough  made  plain 

As  I  followed  the  Lord  alone. 

Never  a  watch  on  the  dreariest  halt 

But  some  promise  of  love  endears  ; 
I  read  from  the  past  that  my  future  shall  be 

Far  better  than  all  my  fears. 
[361] 


December 


So  teach  its  to  number  our  days  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts 
unto  wisdom.  —  Psalm  90  :  12. 

LOOKING  calmly  yet  humbly  for  the  close  of 
my  mortal  career,  which  cannot  be  far  dis- 
tant, I  reverently  thank  God  for  the  blessings  vouch- 
safed me  in  the  past,  and  with  an  awe  that  is  not 
fear,  and  a  consciousness  of  demerit  that  does  not 
exclude  hope,  await  the  opening  before  my  steps 
of  the  gates  of  the  eternal  world. 

HORACE  GREELEY. 

The  Sentinel  Year. 

The  bells  are  tolling  in  the  towers  of  time 
Solemnly  now,  for  midnight  and  for  morn. 
Another  sentinel  year  has  passed  his  rounds 
And,  weary  of  his  watoh,  now  grounds  his  arms, 
Gives  up  his  post  to  the  new  sentinel, 
And  gathers  him  to  rest  and  to  his  dreams  — 
Dreams  of  the  strange  things  that  his  watch  hath 
seen.  WILLIAM  OSBORN  STODDARD. 

Look  backwards  !  from  the  hill-top  and  survey 
Thy  days  of  toil,  of  peaceful  victories  won, 

Of  dreams  made  real,  of  largest  hopes  outrun  ! 

Look  forward  !  brighter  then  earth's  morning  ray 
Streams  the  pure  light  of  Heaven's  unsetting  sun, 

The  all-unclouded  dawn  of  life's  Immortal  Day. 

HOLMES. 

[362] 


/  sleep,  but  my  heart  ivaketh  ;  it  is  the  voice  of  my  beloved 
that  knocketh,  saying,  Open  to  me.  —  Sofig  of  Solomon  5  :  2. 

LOVE  in  this  world  is  like  a  seed  taken  from 
the  tropics  and  planted  where  the  winter 
comes  too  soon ;  and  it  cannot  spread  itself  in 
flower-clusters  and  wide  twining  vines,  so  that  the 
whole  air  is  full  of  the  perfume  thereof.  But  there 
is  to  be  another  summer  for  it  yet.  Care  for  the 
root  now  and  God  will  care  for  the  top  by-and-by. 
Our  sweetest  experiences  of  affection  are  meant  to 
be  suggestions  of  that  realm  which  is  the  home  of 
the  heart.  BEECHER. 

With  love  as  a  guide, 
Every  day  is  a  fresh  beginning ; 
Listen,  my  soul,  to  the  glad  refrain, 
And  spite  of  old  sorrow  and  older  sinning, 
And  puzzles  forecasted  and  possible  pain, 
Take  heart  with  the  day  and  begin  again. 

Love  should  be  the  supreme  thing,  because  it  is 
going  to  last ;  because  in  the  nature  of  things  it  is 
Eternal  Life.  DRUMMOND. 

I  hold  it  true,  whate'er  befall ; 

I  feel  it,  when  I  sorrow  most ; 

Tis  better  to  have  loved  and  lost 
Than  never  to  have  loved  at  all. 

TENNYSON. 

[363] 


December 


Reaching  forth  unto  those  things  -which  are  before.  —  Philip- 
pians  3:13. 

THE  time  will  come  when  these  shoes  which 
we  wear  now,  lest  we  be  cut  of  the  sharp 
places  of  this  world,  shall  be  taken  off,  and  with 
unsandalled  feet  we  will  step  into  the  bed  of  the 
river;  with  feet  untrammelled,  free  from  fatigue 
and  pain,  we  will  gain  that  last  journey  ;  then,  with 
one  foot  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  the  other  foot 
on  the  other  bank,  we  struggle  upward  ;  that  will 
be  heaven.  TALMAGE. 

"  Heimgang  !  "     So  the  German  people 

Whisper  when  they  hear  the  bell 
Tolling  from  some  gray  old  steeple, 

Death's  familiar  tale  to  tell  ; 
When  they  hear  the  organ  dirges 

Swelling  out  from  chapel  dome, 
And  the  singers  chanting  dirges, 

"  Heimgang  !  "  always  going  home. 

"  Heimgang  !  "    Quaint  and  tender  saying, 

In  the  grand  old  German  tongue, 
That  hath  shaped  Melanchthon's  praying, 

And  the  hymns  that  Luther  sung  ; 
Blessed  is  our  loving  Maker, 

And  where'er  our  feet  shall  roam, 
Still  we  journey  towards  "  God's  acre," 

"  Heimgang  !  "  always  going  home. 

A.  J.  DUGANNE. 

[364] 


December 


I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  —  Reve- 
lation 21  :  6. 

I'hou  shall  remember  all  the  -way  which  the  Lord  thy  God  led 
thee.  —  Deuteronomy  8:  12. 

I  DOUBT  not  that  there  are  very  many  to  whom, 
as  they  look  through  the  year,  it  seems  like 
some  old  cathedral  that  once  was  resonant  with 
music,  and  radiant  with  altar  fires,  and  filled  with 
the  glory  of  God,  but  that  now  stands  with  the  roof 
broken  in,  with  the  windows  oat,  with  the  altar 
desolate,  with  the  priest  gone,  with  the  congrega- 
tion dispersed. 

Look  again.  Turn  back  and  see  if  there  has  been 
nothing  in  the  year  but  the  transient.  Although 
individual  histories  and  experiences  and  feelings 
have  been  fluctuating  and  changing,  yet  the  great 
framework  of  God's  purposes  of  mercy  and  love 
and  justice  and  humanity  has  stood  sure,  and  is 
unchanged  and  unchangeable.  BEECHER. 

He  was  better  to  me  than  all  my  hopes, 

He  was  better  than  all  my  fears  ; 
He  made  a  road  of  my  broken  works, 

And  a  rainbow  of  my  tears. 
The  billows  that  guarded  my  sea-girt  path, 

But  carried  my  Lord  on  their  crest  ; 
When  I  dwell  on  the  day  of  my  wilderness  march 

I  can  lean  on  His  love  for  a  rest. 

ANNA    SHIFI'ON. 

[365] 


December 


FEAR  death?  —  to  feel  the  fog  in  my  throat, 
The  mist  in  my  face, 
When  the  snows  begin,  and  the  blasts  denote 

I  am  nearing  the  place  ? 
The  power  of  the  night,  the  press  of  the  storm, 

The  post  of  the  foe  ; 
Where  he  stands,  the  Arch-Fear  in  a  visible  form, 

Yet  the  strong  man  must  go  : 
For  the  journey  is  done  and  the  summit  attained, 

And  the  barriers  fall, 
Though  a  battle's  to  fight  ere  the  guerdon  be  gained, 

The  reward  of  it  all. 

I  was  ever  a  fighter,  so  —  one  fight  more, 

The  best  and  the  last  ! 

I  would  hate  that  death  bandaged  my  eyes  and  for- 
bore, 

And  bade  me  creep  past. 
No  !  let  me  taste  the  whole  of  it,  fare  like  my  peers, 

The  heroes  of  old, 
Bear  the  brunt,  in  a  minute  pay  glad  life's  arrears 

Of  pain,  darkness,  and  cold. 

For  sudden  the  worst  turns  the  best  to  the  brave, 

The  black  minute's  at  end, 
And  the  element's  rage,  the  fiend  voices  that  rave, 

Shall  dwindle,  shall  blend, 
Shall  change,  shall  become  first  a  peace  out  of  pain, 

Then  a  light,  then  thy  breast, 
O  thou  soul  of  my  soul  !  I  shall  clasp  thee  again, 

And  with  God  be  the  rest  !        'BROWNING. 
[366] 


Printed  under  the  supervision  of 
D.  B.  Updike,  6  Beacon  Street 
Boston,  at  the  Norwood  Press 


The  poem,  Living  for  Jesus,  is  used  by  permission  of 
the  John  Clnirch  Company ,  owners  of  the  copyright 


A     000110233     4 


